From The Kathmandu Post
KATHMANDU- Nepal wants to sign a long-term intergovernmental agreement with India on selling Nepal’s excess power to the southern neighbour during the upcoming India visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Nepali officials said that Prime Minister Dahal could visit India after the second week of April. However, the two sides have yet to announce the dates.
“We are preparing a proposal for the Indian side on the 25-year agreement,” said a senior official at the Energy Ministry. “But a lot also depends on whether the Indian side agrees to include our proposal in the agenda.”
Dinesh Ghimire, secretary at the ministry, said the issue of long-term inter-governmental agreement was under discussion at the ministry but was yet to be forwarded to Nepal’s foreign ministry to make it an agenda item ahead of the prime minister’s trip.
Ghimire said that such an agreement can be signed only if the Indian side gives its nod at the bureaucratic level before Dahal reaches New Delhi.
Nepal had proposed such a deal during the 10th secretary-level meeting of Joint Steering Committee on Energy Cooperation in India in late February.