On Sunday, Dhaka’s embassy in Riyadh said it would be seeking Saudi Arabia’s help in enhancing energy security and developing clean energy sources.
Despite importing liquefied natural gas for years, Bangladesh has recently struggled with an acute energy crisis.
The government has resorted to daily power cuts since mid-July in response to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. Due to insufficient power, several industries have been left idle for several hours each day.
The shortage of fuel led to an 80 percent power outage in Bangladesh late in October, affecting 168 million people.
On Oct. 30-31, Bangladeshi government representatives will be in Riyadh for the 14th Joint Commission meeting.
“Crude oil and other petrochemicals from Saudi Arabia will be imported into Bangladesh, as well as refinery issues,” Mortuza Zulkar Nain Noman said.
Energy security and its cleaniness
With Bangladesh’s power crisis leading to rising production costs, industries are trying to switch to clean energy. It requires both technical expertise and a significant investment to develop such solutions.
In this field, Bangladesh will explore the possibility of cooperation with Saudi Arabia due to its programs to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
We are interested in clean energy and would like to learn more about it. A few proposals have been made from the KSA side to Bangladesh, which are in different stages of discussion. “As well as discussing the same, we’ll be having a Joint Commission meeting,” Noman said. There is a good chance that we will be able to sign a few memoranda of understanding.”
Bangladesh build strategic reserves
A possible long-term agreement signed during the meeting could help Bangladesh build strategic reserves and energy resilience.
BUET Prof. Abdul Hasib Chowdhury says that long-term contracts and commitment will help us save ourselves from price fluctuations in the market for fuel.
In order to meet emergency demands for three to six months, we need to build a strategic oil reserve in the country. The process takes years and years, with a lot of investment on the part of the investor. If the Kingdom wants to support us here as well, we can count on them.”
