Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The Fourth SAARC Energy Ministers Meeting will be held in the capital Dhaka on Thursday aiming to strengthen energy cooperation among the member countries of the organisation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also in-charge of the energy ministry, is scheduled to inaugurate the meeting.
The energy ministers' meeting is preceded by a meeting of senior officials of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on Wednesday.
A number of important issues, like - establishing a regional energy grid, importing natural gas from outside the region, and setting up regional oil-refineries and LNG-terminals, would dominate the two-day discussion, officials said.
According to the officials, a study report on SAARC Energy Trade Study and another on regional power exchange will be placed at the meeting for discussion and its approval.
A draft copy of SAARC Inter-governmental Frame Work Agreement for Energy Cooperation will also come up at the meeting, they added.
During the meeting the energy experts of the region would evaluate the options of importing natural gas from Turkmenistan, Iran and Myanmar, and connecting the proposed SAARC gas-grid with these three gas-surplus countries.
Among the SAARC member countries Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have already signed deals with energy-rich Turkmenistan to import natural gas by 2016-17 through Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
The SAARC member countries might also decide to conduct a feasibility study on the prospect of setting up SAARC regional or sub-regional LNG terminals. Only India is now importing LNG, while Bangladesh and Pakistan have taken initiatives to import LNG to meet their domestic demands.
Petroleum demand in the region is mounting significantly in line with economic growth, which is not being met by several refineries of the SAARC countries.
BBN/SSR/AD-14Sept11-10:30 am (BST)