New Delhi, March 12 -- India is considering requests from Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka for the supply of fuel amid an energy crisis caused by the West Asia conflict, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.

Cooperation in energy is a key pillar in India's development collaboration with countries in the neighbourhood. India has helped finance the construction of cross-border pipelines to Nepal and Bangladesh, and also supported the development of Bhutan's hydropower sector.

As global oil and gas prices have surged and crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have dwindled because of the Iran-US conflict, neighbours such as Bangladesh have turned to India for additional fuel supplies.

"We have received a request from ...