Bangladesh to seek Saudi cooperation in clean power, energy efficiency

Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Sunday said Dhaka will seek Riyadh's assistance in enhancing energy security and developing clean power sources.

"Bangladesh government representatives will seek Saudi cooperation in the energy sector at the 14th Joint Commission meeting scheduled to be held in Riyadh on 30-31 October, Mortuza Zulkar Nain Noman, economic counsellor for the Bangladeshi Embassy in Riyadh told Arab News.

"We are interested in clean energy. A few proposals from the KSA side are made to Bangladesh, which are in different stages of discussion. We will also discuss the same during this Joint Commission meeting," Mortuza Zulkar Nain said, adding, "We are hopeful to sign a few MoUs."

"This will include the import of crude oil and other petrochemicals from KSA to Bangladesh, refinery issues and many more," he further noted.

Struggling with an acute energy crisis in recent months, the government has resorted to daily power cuts amid high global prices driven by Russia's war in Ukraine since mid-July,. Industries have been forced to remain idle for several hours a day due to insufficient power to run operations.

On 4 October, Bangladesh suffered its worst blackout in 10 years owing to a "technical glitch". Parts of the country – Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet – plunged into darkness as soon as dusk fell after the national grid tripped at 2.05pm – causing blackouts across Bangladesh, except in some parts of the north.

Some 80% of Bangladesh's 168 million people were left without electricity after the grid failure, which occurred when more than one-third of the country's gas-powered units were short of fuel.

Bangladeshi industries are now trying to move towards clean and renewable energy sources as the power crisis leads to surging production costs in the country

As Saudi Arabia has inspired many countries with its programs to pivot away from dependency on fossil fuels, Bangladesh too will explore the possibility of cooperation in this field.

Energy experts believe that possible long-term agreements signed during the meeting could help Bangladesh build strategic reserves and energy resilience.

"We need some long-term contracts and commitment from the Kingdom for having uninterrupted fuel supply so that we can save ourselves from the price fluctuations in the fuel market," Professor Abdul Hasib Chowdhury of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology told Arab News.

"We need to build a strategic oil reserve in the country to meet emergency demands for three to six months. It takes years and years with lots of investment. The Kingdom can support us here also."