January 4: Nepal and India on Thursday inked a long-term agreement on electricity trade. Secretaries of both the countries signed the pact in the presence of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet.    
The signing of the agreement has materialized the bilateral understanding to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal to India in the next ten years.

Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Gopal Sigdel and India's Energy Secretary Pankaj Agrawal signed on the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.    
The bilateral understanding on electricity export was reached during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India from 31 May to 3 June 2023. During the visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed India's commitment to long-term electricity purchase from Nepal, and both nations reached a consensus on this matter.    
The Federal Council of Ministers of India has already endorsed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard. Accordingly, the agreement was signed during the two-day visit of India's External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, starting from today.    
This agreement has opened the door for government and private entities in India to engage in power trade with Nepal through short-term, medium-term, and long-term contracts. The private sector of Nepal can also participate in the import and export of electricity after completing the necessary procedures.    
In a joint press conference organised in course of Prime Minister Dahal's visit to India, prime ministers of both the countries had announced that the issue of power export was historic and significant. The government has already prepared energy development strategy with an objective of producing 28,000 MW electricity within the next 12 years.    
Out of 28,000 MW electricity, the government has set a target to export 15,000 MW electricity to different countries including India.    
The private sector welcomed the agreement, stating that his has paved the way for the development of Nepal's energy sector. The government has made a commitment to bring quality change in development of energy sector by taking the private sector in confidence.    
Earlier, a delegation led by Indian Energy Secretary Agrawal paid a courtesy call on Energy Minister Basnet.    
On the occasion, Energy Minister Basnet said that the agreement regarding the export of 10,000 MW electricity in the next 10 years would take the relations between the two countries to a new height.    
The energy minister urged to accelerate other projects and complete them on slated time, expecting Indian investment in large projects. -- RSS