Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Bangladeshi Minister for Forest, Environment, Climate Change, and Water Resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan met on Thursday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations.

The talks, held at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, focused on enhancing cooperation between Nepal and Bangladesh, particularly in the energy sector, said the prime minister’s secretariat.

Bishnu Rimal, the chief political adviser to the prime minister; Foreign Ministry Joint Secretary Bhrigu Dhungana, Nepali Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari; and Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury were also present at the meeting.

The Bangladeshi minister is in Kathmandu to witness the signing of energy deal between Nepal and Bangladesh.

A Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting, jointly chaired by Nepal’s Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya and Senior Secretary at the Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, of Bangladesh, decided to sign the power sales agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Bangladesh Power Development Board and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, India amid a function in Kathmandu on Thursday, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

As per the agreement, Bangladesh will import 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. The Indian side has also been involved in the trade deal as Nepal’s electricity will be transmitted to Bangladesh through the transmission infrastructure on the Indian territory. Nepal and Bangladesh are not territorially linked to each other.

Nepal is estimated to sell 144,000 MWh (megawatt-hour) electricity in five months—mid-June to mid-November—at the rate of 6.4 US cents a unit.