Bangladesh envoy meets Indian power minister, seeks trilateral cooperation in hydropower

Originally posted in The Business Standard on 16 February 2022

Indian Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh, left, with Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran, right. Photo: Courtesy

Bangladesh has sought Indian support regarding trilateral cooperation in hydropower among Bangladesh, Bhutan and India.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran on Tuesday met Indian Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh at the latter’s office and discussed the issue.

They also discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation in the power, new and renewable energy sector between Bangladesh and India, during the meeting.

The two sides discussed the commissioning of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal and transnational power connectivity, according to Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

Earlier, the high commissioner met Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology of India Ashwini Vaishnaw at the latter’s office on Monday.

They discussed various bilateral issues related to the railway sector, including the development of railway infrastructure and improvement of the capacity of Bangladesh Railways (BR).

The high commissioner briefed the minister about the status of the upgradation of Dhaka-Chattogram railway tracks, especially Akhaura-Laksamsector and sought the latter’s support in this regard.

The Indian side expressed their readiness to supply locomotives, Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train, Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) train as well as passenger carriages and transfer of technology for railway signalling system to Bangladesh.

The respective Secretaries of the ministries and other high officials were present during the meetings.

Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh Md Nural Islam also attended the meetings.