India ready to power Bangladesh's renewable energy sector: Goyal

India on Thursday expressed its willingness to reinvigorate its engagement with Bangladesh in the power sector. At a meeting with a delegation of senior editors and journalists from the neighboring country, the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal, expressed his willingness to support Bangladesh in the Renewable Energy sector and Energy Efficiency initiatives, in which India has achieved huge success.

"The scale at which the RE sector has expanded would surely help Bangladesh to learn from India's experiences and help the nation in transition towards Clean Energy in the future," the Minister avouched.

"This would enrich and strengthen the engagement between the two countries in the areas of mutual and shared interests," he added.

In March, India had expressed its interest to give Bangladesh a credit line of at least $3.5 billion for infrastructure projects during the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit as Beijing and New Delhi jostle for geopolitical influence in South Asia.

Reportedly, the credit line to its neighbor would go toward a variety of projects ranging from nuclear and liquefied natural gas power plants to ports, railways and the establishment of special economic zones.

The interaction was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs for the delegation to learn about the turnaround that has been achieved in India's power sector. A presentation was also given to the delegation informing them about the transparency initiatives taken by the government like various mobile apps and web portals in the power sector and the change that the transparency and accountability has brought about in the governance in the sector. Addressing the delegation, the minister said that India and Bangladesh have expanded the scope of engagement to an unprecedented scale, which has built a great level of mutual trust between the two nations.

Goyal also noted that both countries have a lot to learn from each other and cooperate on a number of issues of regional and global importance. He also commended the neighboring nation on its achievements like the Grameen Bank, revolution in the textile sector, on which India looks up to Bangladesh. "India and Bangladesh are more than just neighbors", he added. During the meeting, members of the delegation were informed about the series of reform measures that have been taken by the government to bring about transparency and accountability in the power sector and to achieve the mission of Affordable, Quality, and "24x7 Power for All".