Bimstec power deal finalised

An agreement on cross-border power trade among countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), including Bangladesh, has been finalised.  

In a meeting in Kathmandu on February 7, senior officials of the seven Bimstec countries finalised the MoU on trade in power. The Trade Negotiating Committee would soon take up trade and trade facilitation matters.

It was also decided in the meeting that to boost regional connectivity, India would organise a meeting of the Working Group to finalise the Bimstec Motor Vehicles Agreement that would allow seamless movement of passengers and cargo vehicles among the countries.

The Kathmandu meeting “marked an important step forward to realise the action-oriented agenda for Bimstec” agreed to by top BIMSTEC top leaders, including Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at their retreat hosted by Indian PM Narendra Modi in Goa in October last year, said an official statement of New Delhi.

The Kathmandu meeting also discussed progress in several other key Bimstec initiatives in trade and investment, energy, technology, fisheries, climate change, culture, people-to-people contacts and other sectors.