Lack of concerted efforts from
governments and absence of a
catalysing agency is eluding
materialisation of cross-border
energy cooperation among South Asian
countries, a minister said at a
seminar yesterday.
Though SAARC (South Asian
Association for Regional
Cooperation) nations are willing to
forge energy cooperation, there is
no initiative from any government to
go ahead with the plan, State
Minister for Power Iqbal Hasan
Mahmood said.
"Our Prime Minister proposed a
common South Asian power grid in the
last summit of the regional group
but we do not see any initiative
from Saarc Secretariat which should
have worked as a catalysing agency,"
the minister said.
He was addressing a session on
"Energy Cooperation in South Asia"
of a daylong seminar on "Follow-up
of the SAARC Decisions Concerning
Safta and Energy Cooperation" at
Brac Centre conference room in
Dhaka.
"Though we hear rhetoric about
energy cooperation, the ground
reality is that there is no
progress," Mahmood regretted.
He said Bangladesh needs $2 billion
investment by 2007 for meeting the
power demands so private sector
investment is key to achieving
self-sufficiency in power. Shortage
of power is present in all South
Asian countries, he added.
Presenting a paper on the topic,
Prof MP Lama, Centre for South Asian
Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru
University in New Delhi, said for
cross-border cooperation the member
countries can establish SAARC
Regional Power Trading Corporation.
Chairing the session, Azimuddin
Ahmed, former energy secretary, said
co-operation in power sector is
vital for development of South Asian
countries.
Prof Rehman Sobhan, chairman of CPD,
said a necessary framework is needed
for energy cooperation in the
region.
Mohammad Aziz Khan, chairman of
Summit Group, said the governments
should be dynamic to materialise the
plan of energy cooperation in the
region.
Nuruddin Mahmud Kamal, former
chairman of Power Development Board,
said the region has huge potential
for hydropower generation, but it
remains untapped for lack of
investment.
