Stakeholders from India and Nepal gathered at the biggest-ever power summit here on Thursday to identify potential hydropower projects and developing them jointly with the involvement of private sectors of both countries.
The two-day 'Power Summit 2006', which was formally inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has drawn over 150 power sector stakeholders from Nepal and India.
Calling for public-private partnership for harnessing Nepal's huge hydro-power potential in a mutually beneficial way, Oli said, "We firmly believe in judicious development of this potential based on deliberate balancing of economic, social and environmental values and constraints."
"If Nepal and India can work together in various fields including economy, trade, tourism, culture, then why not in hydropower sector for the benefit of both the countries," Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shanker Mukherjee said.
He said India is willing to help Nepal in improving its rural electrification and upgrading power connectivity to fight shortage during the off season.
It is time to build political consensus on harnessing water resources, which we have wasted in the past due to over-politicising the issue, Finance Minister Ramsharan Mahat said.
{{/usCountry}}It is time to build political consensus on harnessing water resources, which we have wasted in the past due to over-politicising the issue, Finance Minister Ramsharan Mahat said.
{{/usCountry}}Experts also stressed on the need to dissociate hydropower projects from politics by by separating energy from water resources and by focusing on run of water instead of building reservoir based projects.