India has called upon the member-countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to come together to meet the energy needs of the region efficiently, and mooted specific proposals for necessary interconnectivity. Inaugurating the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Energy Dialogue at New Delhi on March 5, Indian Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde also floated a specific proposal for developing inter-country energy grid connections.

The day-long dialogue was attended by experts, academics and representatives of various organisations from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka and host India. The programme was jointly organised by the Power Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry, and its purpose was to reach a consensus on evolving common approach to energy needs of the region. Shinde said, India was exploring the possibility of power transmission links with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and asked other South Asian countries to enhance regional cooperation for exchange of oil, gas and electricity.

The SAARC working group on energy was also formulating the terms of reference for study on energy trade in the region. India, already has grid interconnections with Nepal and Bhutan, and technical studies were being conducted to explore the feasibility of similar transmission links with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.