Bangladesh and Nepal Convene JWG and JSC Meetings to Advance Energy Cooperation
21 June 2019
Energy secretaries of the Governments of Bangladesh and Nepal held the second Joint Working Group (JWG) and Joint Steering Committee (JCS) meetings in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on 20-21 June 2019. These meetings were held to discuss bilateral cooperation on energy by the two neighbors, following the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Power Sector signed by the two governments on 20 August 2018.
The Meetings:
- Followed-up on the progress of outcomes of the first JSC meeting on 4 December 2018. This year's JSC meeting also reviewed the deliberations of the JWG meeting;
- Discussed power trade between Bangladesh and Nepal:
- On transmission lines, the meeting recommended utilizing transmission lines being constructed by Nepal up to the Nepal-India border for the Nepal-Bangladesh power trade; and
- On the power trading mechanism, the meeting recommended considering the Guidelines for Import/Export (Cross border) of Electricity 2018 and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission issued by the Ministry of Power of the Government of India in December 2018 and March 2019, respectively.
- Discussed potential hydropower development investment in Nepal. Viable projects will be shortlisted from a list of potential projects earlier identified in a white paper, which was issued by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation of the Government of Nepal.
- Discussed the cross-border interconnection between Nepal and Bangladesh:
- The meetings endorsed the proposal to develop suitable transmission systems on the Bangladesh-lndia and the Nepal-India border.
- The meetings furthermore endorsed the proposal to adhere to India’s Guidelines for Import/Export (Cross Border) of Electricity and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Cross Border Trade of Electricity) for the transmission line interconnecting Bangladesh and Nepal, via India.
- Bangladesh also informed the meetings that Bangladesh and India agreed to build the Bangladesh-India transmission lines in consideration of facilitating smooth exchange of power between/among the countries.
- Welcomed participation of Bangladesh firms in hydropower development in Nepal.
- Reviewed the progress of importing 500 megawatts of hydropower from the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project in Nepal.
- Discussed cooperation between Nepal and Bangladesh in the field of renewable energy.
- Proposed a date for the 3rd Joint Steering Committee Meeting.
The JWG Meeting was led by Mr. Sheikh Faezul Amin, Joint Secretary, Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources of the Government of Bangladesh, and Mr. Pravin Raj Aryal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation of the Government of Nepal. The JSC Meeting was led by Mr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Senior Secretary, Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources of the Government of Bangladesh, and Mr. Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Ministry of Energy, Water, and Irrigation of the Government of Nepal.
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