According to Nepal’s envoy, Shankar Prasad Sharma, a planned trilateral power trading deal between India, Nepal, and Bangladesh is nearing completion, however New Delhi and Dhaka may need to increase their transmission capabilities to put the agreement into effect.
During a conversation at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Sharma stated that the Nepali government has not yet made a decision about the recruitment of its citizens under the Agnipath plan of the Indian Army for only four years.
The three nations have agreed to a proposed tripartite power trading agreement, the first of its type in South Asia, which aims to satisfy a long-standing desire from Bangladesh and Nepal to permit the selling of energy to the Indian grid.
Sharma mentioned that the pact is on the “final stage”. He further added: “But any time, we can have the meeting and agree on these areas. But I’m sure because when three countries are involved and this is the first time [it is] being done in South Asia – a tripartite agreement and the implementation of the electricity grid – there could be many things that may arise.”
He mentioned, “We’ll probably also need to talk and plan about the transmission capacity between India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is also interested in having investments in Nepal to import electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh, either with their investment or the investment done by other countries.”
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the prime minister of Nepal, and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, presented their intentions during the latter’s visit to New Delhi in June. India would make it easier for Nepal to sell hydropower to Bangladesh. Dahal promised to start by exporting 50 MW, and authorities have underlined that once the deal is in place, there is a chance that this will be increased.
“Things are also different [in Nepal] from the past 10 to 15 years in terms of employment opportunities. India has also not decided [on this matter],” he added briskly.
In response to a different query on rumours of citizens of Nepal enlisting in the People’s Liberation Army of China, Sharma stated that the government of Nepal had made a statement stating that no citizen may enlist in the armed forces of a foreign country with no official approval.
“Right now, Nepalese citizens can only join the security forces of the UK, India and Singapore,” he added.
