We welcome Nepal’s support for Bangladeshi initiatives to establish tripartite co-operation on energy between our two countries and India.
Cross-border collaboration is vital to make the best use of the region’s resources. As well as helping our economies to better match supply and demand for water and power, it can bring mutual economic benefits by opening up new trade opportunities.
Nepal’s energy minister has discussed a memorandum of understanding with the Bangladesh government for facilitating the export of energy from Nepal. He supports the principle of Bangladesh buying electricity from GMR, an Indian company, which is investing in a hydroelectricity project in Nepal.
Importing hydropower in this way may help our energy sector become less dependent on expensive, non-renewable fossil fuels. It has the potential to provide an economically and environmentally sustainable option to help meet our future energy needs.
The sharing of resources development of cross-border infrastructure should be a top priority for regional platforms such as BIMSTEC, Saarc, and the BCIM Forum.
As well as helping to address energy and water challenges, building cooperation around hydropower can assist in helping to ensure fairer management of the region’s common river-waters.
Improved co-operation on these matters can also help the region better address the impacts of climate change.
The Brahmaputra basin is a vital resource of nature that links Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal. Initiatives that help us work more closely together with our neighbours through mutually beneficial regional projects should be strongly supported.
