KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31
Vice-President of Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICC) Sunil KC met Salman F Rahman, private industry investment adviser to PM Sheikh Hasina in the rank of cabinet minister and one of the leading entrepreneurs of Bangladesh.
The meeting took place at Khan's office. The discussion revolved around promotion of Nepal-Bangladesh joint ventures in hydroelectric power in order to bring power from Nepal to Bangladesh and also laid emphasis on promoting the government investments in Nepal and private-to-private investments by bringing the Indian companies on the board so that power sector can grow smoothly in Nepal and fulfil the demands of Bangladesh in few years , as per a media release.
Adviser Rahman said that the government of Bangladesh seriously wants to make an investment once the government of India is convinced and agrees to facilitate the cross-border power trade in this region and further informed that discussions are ongoing to import 50 MW power immediately from Nepal to Bangladesh and if that happens, it will be a game changing project between Nepal and Bangladesh.
Vice-President of NICCI KC encouraged Rahman prioritise making investments in Nepal's hydropower and developing the cross-border transmission lines and collaborating on big infrastructure projects. Adviser Rahman added that Bangladesh will make around $3 billion investments in Nepal from the government and private sectors in days to come.
KC also met Home Minister of Bangladesh Asaduzzaman Khan, who is a top leader of Awami leagues in the decision-making board of Awami League being led by PM Hasina and requested him to view Nepal as a serious and reliable investment market for hydroelectric power. Minister Khan informed that he is positive about investments in Nepal and deepen bilateral economic relations for the benefit of both the countries. He also assured that he will raise the issues with his PM.
KC also met Secretary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Mashfee Binte Shams and the newly appointment Nepal Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari and requested them to promote the bilateral investments in power and infrastructure sectors.
Ambassador Bhandari expressed commitment to promote the B2B relations between the two countries to help the private sector and said that his focus would be on economic diplomacy.
During the visit, KC also met Yeakub Elahi Chowdhury, executive director of Power Grid Corporation of Bangladesh, and several other potential energy investors in Bangladesh and interacted with them.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 1, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
