Bangladesh and Russia are likely to sign a 15-year “investment protection deal” in under which Russia wants to give its investors exemption from having to compensate for environmental and public health hazards.
Sources said the deal, likely to be inked in February, will give the exemption to investors from both countries.
Russia wants to expand trade with Bangladesh to $1bn within a year and for that it is seeking the investment protection.
According to an official of Bangladesh’s Industries Ministry, Russia wants this because most of its investment is in the power, nuclear power and gas exploration sectors here.
The official also said that the investment protection agreement would also help in improving relations with China under Bangladesh’s “look east” policy.
An inter-ministerial meeting, to be presided over by an additional secretary of the Industries Ministry, on December 9 is likely to finalise the deal titled “Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments”
Last week, Md Aminul Islam, deputy secretary of the ministry, send an eight-page draft of the Bangladesh-Russia investment protection pact to different ministries and divisions for opinion.
Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “It is not easy to prepare an agreement for investment protection between two countries because negotiation is a time-consuming process.”
The Russian authorities sent their response to a draft of the agreement in May.
Five months ago, Russia’s Gazprom was awarded five new onshore well-drilling contracts, but that work is still to begin.
Bangladesh and Russia began cooperation in the nuclear energy field in May 2010, after which both countries signed a series of agreements for building the 2,400 megawatt Rooppur nuclear power plant. As part of the agreement , Bangladesh and Russia are set to sign the fourth contract in a short time.
A couple of months ago, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Bangladesh might have to spend around $13.5bn to build the Rooppur plant. Of the cost, $12bn will come from the Russian government in loans and the rest from the Bangladesh side, he said.
