A political party in Bangladesh has given priority to Nepal's hydropower in its election manifesto.
Bangladesh is preparing to hold elections in January 2024.
Sheikh Hasina, who is the incumbent prime minister from the Awami League, the largest party of Bangladesh, has been running the government, currently.
Besides, there is also Jatiya Party, the main opposition in the Bangladeshi Parliament. The other party Bangladesh National Party (BNP) did not participate in the previous elections.
The ruling Awami League party has included the import of Nepal's hydropower in its election manifesto. The party in its manifesto has mentioned that Bangladesh should import hydropower from Nepal for the development of the country.
"The country's energy management will be facilitated in the future by importing green energy from Nepal and Bhutan,” reads the manifesto.
This is the fourth consecutive term the Awami League has been running the government in Bangladesh.
This party has prioritized Nepal's hydropower in its policies and programs this year.
If there is an agreement on the power transmission line via India to Bangladesh, it is likely that Bangladesh will import Nepal’s hydropower.
After independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has been ruled by the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) alternately.
Nepal and India may ink deal on transmission line during PM Prachanda’s visit
Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda is preparing to visit India in the near future.
It is also estimated that the issue of building a dedicated transmission line from Nepal to Bangladesh through India will be raised and discussed. Nepal is also prepared to reach a deal on it. It is expected that the deal on the transmission line will be reached with India during his visit.
Prior to that, Nepal-Bangladesh meeting is ready to be held, sources at the Ministry of Energy have said.
According to the sources, it has been proposed to hold the meeting on May 14-15.
Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation is working to identify the route for that. A meeting will be held once the possible routes are identified.
Anarmani-Silguri-Bangladesh or Inaruwa-Purnia-Bangladesh route is being discussed for a dedicated transmission line.
India needs to be 'convinced'
Geographically, Nepal and Bangladesh are not directly connected. Therefore, there is a situation where India has to be 'convinced' in every agreement between the two countries. For this reason, green energy cooperation should also be discussed with India.
Taking this into consideration, a tripartite agreement has also been reached between Nepal, Bangladesh and India. According to this, Bangladesh has agreed to import 50 MW electricity from Nepal.
At the ministerial level meeting on Bangladesh-India energy cooperation held in New Delhi on January 4, the Minister of State for Energy and Natural Resources of Bangladesh, Nasrul Hamid, requested India to have visible 'co-operation' in the matter of importing electricity from Nepal.
In the meeting, Bangladesh requested the Indian side to extend cooperation as it is mandatory to import electricity from Nepal.
Priority to Nepal and Bhutan in green energy
The policies and programs of Bangladesh has mentioned that it would import 40 percent of the total energy consumed by Bangladesh by 2041.
Nepali Ambassador to Dhaka, Ghanshyam Bhandari, says that Bangladesh prioritizes neighboring countries for green energy.
"It seems that 40 percent of energy will be imported from Nepal and Bhutan by 2041," he told Nepalkhabar.
Earlier, Bangladesh has agreed to import 50 MW electricity from Nepal. But the electricity according to the agreement has not yet reached Bangladesh.
A bilateral agreement was reached for Bangladesh to import 50 MW of electricity from Nepal. Bangladesh agreed to buy 50 megawatts of electricity in the meeting of the Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee for Energy Cooperation.
Bangladesh, a leading producer of garments and pharmaceuticals, has recently been making strides in information and technology (IT) along with its foreign exports.
It aims to become a developed nation by 2041.
It is making significant investments in the construction of development infrastructure and has accelerated the construction of physical structures.
Now the per capita income of the citizens of Bangladesh has reached more than 2,400 US dollars.
Bangladesh has also started to have a good presence in the European and American markets aggressively in the production of goods.
With the goal of becoming developed, it has prioritized green energy.
Even if we look at the policies and programs of the government here, it is clear that Bangladesh will import 15,000 MW of green energy.
Even now, it is importing electricity generated from hydropower projects from India.
