The United Kingdom has expressed its keenness to work on alternative energy with Bangladesh.
UK Minister of State for South Asia, the United Nations, and the Commonwealth of FCDO Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon expressed the desire when he called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence, Ganabhaban, on Wednesday evening.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the call on.
During the meeting, they discussed various issues such as climate, British-Bangladesh trade and Rohingya issues, he said.
Emphasizing on green energy, the UK state minister said that the region has great potential in green energy as Nepal and Bhutan have hydroelectricity.
He also said hydroelectricity can be distributed by establishing a regional grid.
In reply, the Bangladesh prime minister said: “We are working on it.”
As Tariq Ahmad stressed the need for solar energy, Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh has so far given 6.5 billion solar connections.
About the Rohingya issue, the British minister said that they want the Rohingya to return to their homeland Myanmar from Bangladesh.
He continued that he met many Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and said they highly lauded Bangladesh’s prime minister and the present government.
The UK minister said that Rohingyas blamed their men for causing trouble in their camps, quoting them as saying: “No Bangladeshi is responsible for causing trouble in the camps.”
Sheikh Hasina told the UK minister that some Rohingyas have been shifted to Bhashan Char island.
The prime minister said that her government has taken measures to give them jobs, proper education, and training to make them skilled, so that they will not be considered a burden when they are sent back to their homeland.
She called upon international agencies to work for the Rohingyas upon taking them back to Myanmar.
Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson were present at the meeting.
