India is taking its relationship with Bangladesh in a positive direction and has continued to meet Bangladesh’s additional fuel requests amid the energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict, New Delhi said yesterday.

"We have already indicated that we are taking the relationship with Bangladesh in a positive direction,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly briefing yesterday, reports UNB.

He said Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur recently visited New Delhi, while Speaker of India's Lok Sabha Om Birla travelled to Dhaka.

"That is the trajectory of the present relationship with Bangladesh."

Jaiswal said India has continued supplying fuel to countries in the neighbourhood, including Bangladesh, through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

"We have been supplying diesel to Bangladesh through the high-speed diesel friendship pipeline. We also received additional requests from Bangladesh, which we have met and continue to meet," he said.

In response to a question, Jaiswal reiterated that over the last several years, India has requested Bangladesh to verify the nationality of over 2,860 people whom they believe are Bangladeshi nationals staying in India.

However, they are yet to receive a response on this particular matter, he claimed.

Asked on Bangladesh’s approach to China for Teesta river management project, during Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s recent visit to China, Jaiswal said India closely follows all the developments that happen around the world, and it did the same in relation to the trip made by Bangladesh Foreign Minister.

The MEA spokesperson also mentioned that India’s relations with its neighbouring countries stand on their own, keeping in view their mutual interests.