South Asian energy officials, during their twoday parley in Kathmandu last week, framed terms of reference for a study on regional trade in and sharing of energy resources. The study would analyse energy resources like power and gas in the region and find out the surplus amount that could be traded among the countries, decided energy officials at the third meeting of the SAARC working group on energy cooperation held on January 2223 in the Nepalese capital.

Energy ministers of seven SAARC nations, who are scheduled for a meeting in New Delhi in March, will finally decide on the study, which would be funded by the ADB, energy division officials said. The study would take six months to be completed.

The Bangladesh delegation, led by a joint secretary of Power Division, M Wahid Hossain, stressed for hydropower trade as Nepal and Bhutan enjoy huge surplus of hydroelectricity. It discussed the progress of formation of SAARC Energy Centre that would be set up in Islamabad. German GTZ will give technical support in setting up the centre that will have energy related information of SAARC countries and training facilities.

The meeting decided to hold seminars and workshops on energy related issues in different countries including Nepal, India and Bangladesh.