Kathmandu: A courtesy meeting was held today between Nepal’s Minister of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, and Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal, Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury.
The meeting, held at the Ministry of Energy, focused on various aspects of energy cooperation between Nepal and Bangladesh. Minister Khadka highlighted the immense potential for hydropower in Nepal and the growing energy needs in Bangladesh, emphasizing that the meeting would help deepen energy collaboration between the two nations.
Minister Khadka expressed confidence that the upcoming secretary-level and joint-secretary-level meetings between Nepal and Bangladesh would lead to fruitful discussions on important issues such as the development of large hydropower projects, securing India’s consent for cross-border transmission lines, and initiating electricity trade.
He also mentioned that an historic tripartite electricity trade agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and India’s Power Trading Corporation is set to be signed soon. This would enable Nepal to export electricity to Bangladesh via Indian transmission lines during the monsoon season, marking a significant milestone in energy trade between the two countries.
Minister Khadka further noted that the process of signing a joint venture agreement between the NEA and BPDB for the development of the 680 MW Sunkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project is progressing, and he hoped for support from the Bangladeshi Embassy.
During the meeting, Ambassador Chowdhury expressed Bangladesh’s interest in advancing energy cooperation by soon signing a 40 MW power purchase agreement with Nepal. He also affirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to supporting Nepal in the fields of electricity production, trade, and transmission line development.
Ambassador Chowdhury added that Bangladesh is achieving high agricultural output through innovative irrigation technologies on limited land and offered to assist Nepal in adopting similar technologies.
The meeting was attended by Energy Ministry Secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel and senior energy expert Prabal Adhikari, among others.
