Global oil, LNG price hike impact Bangladesh: Momen
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said purchase of oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at increased price is negatively impacting the country’s foreign exchange reserve, reports UNB.
He said this in parliament while replying to a tabled question from Gonoforum lawmaker Mokabbir Khan from Sylhet-2 constituency.
Momen said that the government is increasing subsidy so that people are not affected due to increase of price of fuel and LPG. But doing this is putting pressure on the overall budget.
“In addition, purchase of oil and LNG at an increased price is putting a negative impact on foreign exchange reserves,” he said.
The minister said that the Russia-Ukraine war has affected the entire world and Bangladesh is no exception.
“The negative impact of this war on the global economy is multidimensional, this war also has a multidimensional effect in Bangladesh,” he added.
The foreign minister said that due to the far-sighted leadership and prudent guidance of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh wasn’t as badly affected by the Ukraine war as many other developing countries.
The government was very much able to mitigate the damaging effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, he added.
He said the government has taken various steps to address the crisis caused by the war.
As part of this, he mentioned that imports of luxury goods have been discouraged. Bangladesh Bank has already taken some practical steps to increase remittances.
“In addition, all kinds of exposure visits, study tours, workshops and seminars of government officials have been stopped to keep the value of money against the US dollar reasonable. The same initiative has been taken in the case of bankers.”
The foreign minister said that the price of Brent crude oil in the world market was $56 per barrel in January, which has now risen to more than $120. The price of LNG has also gone up in the spot market.
In reply to a query from ruling party Awami League MP Didarul Alam (Chattogram-4) Momen said, there are 1913 Bangladeshi nationals detained in different jails of India and Myanmar.
Of them, 1850 Bangladeshis are in India and the rest are in Myanmar, he said.
The foreign minister said most of the Bangladeshis detained in India are accused of over staying due to procedural reasons
“The Bangladeshi missions also meet them with the permission of the concerned authorities and provide them necessary legal assistance,” Momen said.
The 63 Bangladeshi citizens detained in Myanmar, Momen said, are serving different terms in jails for illegal entry.
“They will be repatriated once their sentences expire. Of the 63 detainees in Myanmar, 13 have been confirmed to have Bangladeshi citizenship. The process of confirming the citizenship of the remaining 50 people is underway,” he said.
Responding to a question from ruling Awami League MP, M Abdul Latif (Chattogram-11), home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the number of female drug addicts has increased as compared to the number of drug addicts receiving treatment at public and private rehabilitation centres in the country.
However, the minister did not say by how much it has increased.