DHAKA, Aug 19, 2022 (BSS) - Adviser to the Prime Minister for Power, Energy
and Mineral Resources Affairs, Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury urged the US
government for more investment through its International Development Finance
Corporation (DFC) in Bangladesh's renewable energy sector.
 
He made this request to US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth,
Energy, and the Environment Jose W Fernandez at a meeting held at the US
Department of State in Washington DC on Thursday, said a press release here
today.
 
Dr Chowdhury and Under Secretary Fernandez discussed the existing bilateral
energy cooperation and explored possible ways to strengthen it further.

The Energy Adviser briefed the Under Secretary on the policies adopted by the
government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make Bangladesh self-reliant in
power and energy.
 
He also highlighted how the Bangladesh government was diversifying its power
generation using energy from various sources like gas, oil and coal, nuclear
as well as renewables.

Mentioning that the current global energy shortages caused by the Ukraine war
had placed many countries including Bangladesh at risk in sustaining their
energy securities, the Adviser sought the US attention to play its role to
improve the situations.

Dr Chowdhury emphasized that the US should come forward with more investment
in countries like Bangladesh through DFC financing.

He also encouraged US companies for oil and gas exploration in Bangladesh's
offshore areas and to look at the prospects of nuclear power modular reactors
in Bangladesh.

The Under Secretary appreciated Bangladesh's impressive socio-economic growth
and achievements in poverty reduction.

Acknowledging that the Ukraine war was affecting countries of the world, the
US did not impose sanctions on essential commodities like food, energy or
fertilizers, Fernandez told the Adviser.

The Under Secretary encouraged Bangladesh to work more closely with the US to
further improve labor rights and factory safety conditions to open up new
opportunities and areas of cooperation.

He termed clean energy as a potential sector and opined that Bangladesh could
explore such possibilities.

Under Secretary Fernandez also urged Bangladesh to join the Global Methane
Pledge launched at COP26 in November 2021.

Adviser Chowdhury and Under Secretary Fernandez agreed that Bangladesh-US
relation was widening and deepening and the two governments should remain
engaged to advance their common interests.

Meanwhile, the Adviser joined a high-level roundtable with senior energy
industry leaders from the United States in the afternoon. The U.S.-Bangladesh
Business Council hosted the event under the theme of the "Current State of
Play: U.S.-Bangladesh Energy Cooperation"
 
The Council's U.S.-Bangladesh Energy Taskforce, launched by Honorable Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina in September 2021, shared an update with Dr Chowdhury
regarding recommendations from the business community on the expansion of LNG
import capacity, the country's ambitious green energy transition, and
domestic energy exploration.

Dr Chowdhury noted the critical steps and austerity measures Bangladesh is
taking to manage the current energy crisis, and to put in place sustainable
short-to-long term solutions to meet the energy demands of a fast-growing
economy like Bangladesh.

Additionally, there was a discussion around studies being done around storage
solutions, wind and solar energy, including floating solar that can be
incorporated in the energy mix. Overall, the discussion explored how the U.S.
energy industry can participate in supporting Bangladesh's economic growth
with a particular focus on an all-of-the-above approach for energy
transition.