The friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India has a storied history, but nowhere has this been more evident, in recent years, than in our energy cooperation.
With India being a major player in the energy sector and its close proximity with Bangladesh, it only makes sense that there would be great synergy between the two nations. While Bangladesh has engaged with a number of different stakeholders in the energy sector, few are as important as India.
To that end, the flagship Rampal Power Plant -- for example -- is a direct result of our fruitful relationship with India. Alongside India, Russia has been a major player in the energy sector with the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. However, recent developments and the international embargo placed on Russia has presented issues for this ambitious project.
This is not to say that our partnership with India has been a walk in the park. There have been allegations of India using its influence to get a better deal, a lot of them rightfully so. However, this can be chalked up to our own diplomatic blunders, which is one area where the administration needs to genuinely focus its attention.
We need to do everything we can to nurture this partnership, but it doesn't mean rolling over.
Bilateral talks with participation from private stakeholders have to be conducted periodically. Furthermore, both public and private stakeholders need to ramp up their negotiation skills -- getting the best possible deal should be an absolute priority, after all. Direct intervention from the government in this case has to be used if necessary.
The future is indeed looking bright for Bangladesh, and a major reason is the partnerships that we continue to solidify.
