CPD, in association with the Coalition for Action on
South Asian Cooperation (CASAC), organised a two-day
regional workshop on 'Finalising the Study on Energy
Cooperation in South Asia' at BRAC Centre Inn, Dhaka,
during June 10 - 11, 2003. Participated by experts and
high-level policy makers and representatives of major
stakeholder groups in Bangladesh and abroad, the workshop
discussed the country reports prepared by experts in
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.Presided
over by CPD's Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan, the
inaugural session was addressed by State Minister for
Energy and Mineral Resources Mr AKM Mosharraf Hossain,
MP as Chief Guest. CPD's Executive Director Dr Debapriya
Bhattacharya, former diplomat from Pakistan and CASAC
Co-Chairman Ambassador Niaz A Naik also spoke on the
occassion.While
criticising the 'politicising' of the gas export issue
the Chief Guest said "political will of the regional
countries can create a win-win game for all" and
further observed that this would be the only solution
which is sustainable in terms of resource sharing in
this vital sector. "Regional cooperation provides
a sensible option as South Asian countries have large
and untapped comple-mentaries", he added. While
talking of project-led cooperation through the SAARC
technical committee, Mr Hossain underscored 'gradualism'
as the underlying principle of any cooperation.Professor
Sobhan described South Asia as the biggest unsatisfied
market for energy and said that lessons should be taken
from the European and Far-Eastern countries that are
interconnected through gas and power networks. He further
added that regional cooperation should be driven by
economic means rather than the political ones.
The
issue of a regional power grid connecting Bangladesh,
India, Bhutan and Nepal was the focus of the workshop.
Suggestions were made over limited exchange of electricity
State
Minister for Power Mr Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, MP speaks
as Chief Guest while Professor Rehman Sobhan and Ambassador
Mr Niaz A Naik look on at the CPD-CASAC Energy Dialogue.
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Head
table of CPD-CASAC Energy Dialogue: (From left to right)
Ambassador Niaz A Naik (Pakistan), State Minister for
Energy and Mineral Resources Mr AKM Mosharraf Hossain,
MP, CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan and ED Dr Debapriya
Bhattacharya.
and interconnection between India and Pakistan. Speakers
also expressed concerns about the state of South Asia's
low energy consumption.
Three
technical sessions were held on each day of the two-day
workshop. Mr Hilal A Raza from Pakistan, Dr A R Sihag
and Professor Mahendra P Lama from India, Mr Shankar
K Malla from Nepal, and Professor AKMA Quader and Professor
Edmond Gomez from Bangladesh presented the keynote papers
in the seminar. Co-Convenor of CPD-CASAC Energy Project
Mr Farooq Sobhan and Mr SM Al-Husainy, former secretary
of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, chaired
two other sessions.
A
paper on 'Regional Synthesis', presented in the seminar,
came up with the following recommendations for regional
cooperation: identifying reform sectors; analysing market
structure; locating the key projects; trading in energy;
and advocacy and sensitisation.
State
Minister for Power Mr Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, MP attended
the closing session of the workshop as the Chief Guest.
"We have been able to provide electricity to only
30 per cent people and the demand for power is going
up by 15 per cent every year. It is not possible for
Bangladesh to meet this demand on its own. Joining hands
with South Asian nations could help Bangladesh improve
the situation", he said. Mr Mahmud brought in the
issue of setting up a 1000 MW power plant at Tripura,
a North-Eastern Indian state, and mentioned that Bangladesh
could buy power from this potential source. He also
called upon India to be the forerunner in energy cooperation
in South Asia.
Chairing
the closing session, Professor Sobhan noted that South
Asian nations are divided by many issues but united
by poor governance. He further stated that multinational
companies are increasingly looking at South Asia as
it is the biggest market for power in the world.
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