New Delhi/Dhaka: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has offered India to use Chottogram and Sylhet ports in order to emphasise the importance of improving regional connectivity for growing trade and commerce, media reports said.

"India can use our Chattogram and Sylhet ports if they want," PM Hasina was quoted as saying by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) as reported by ANI on Sunday when a Member of the Governing Council of India Foundation Ram Madhav called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina last week jointly inauguratedd the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) in a virtual mode.

The foundation stone for the construction of this pipeline was laid by both Prime Ministers in September 2018.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015.

This is the second cross-border energy pipeline between India and its neighbours.

Cooperation in the power and energy sector has become one of the hallmarks of India-Bangladesh relations.

IBFP is the first cross border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh with a capacity to transport 1 Million Metric Ton Per Annum (MMTPA) of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) to Bangladesh. Enhanced connectivity with Bangladesh will further strengthen people to people linkages between two sides.

Bangladesh is India’s top-most development partner and its largest trade partner in the region.