Bangladesh, US sign agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy

Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States aimed at the peaceful use of nuclear power. The agreement was signed following high-level bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In a statement today, Saturday, September 26, the BNP Media Cell said that Rehan Asad, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Science and Technology (ICT), signed on behalf of Bangladesh, and Jacob Helberg, US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, signed on behalf of the United States. The agreement was signed in New York on September 25 local time.

The statement further noted that the current agreement is a continuation of the first initiative for cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear power taken during the tenure of then President Ziaur Rahman in 1981.

Earlier, on September 24, at a briefing in New York, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Bethany Paulos Morrison said there has been major progress in relations between the two countries in recent times. During the visit, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister met US President Donald Trump, and a large commercial agreement was concluded with aircraft manufacturer Boeing, on which Trump gave a positive message on his social media platform 'Truth Social'. Morrison also mentioned that an MoU on the civilian use of nuclear power between the two countries was about to be signed at that time.

Meanwhile, amid the positive news of the nuclear agreement with the United States, temporary uncertainty has arisen over the arrival of uranium fuel for the second unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. According to the scheduled timeline, this new consignment was supposed to arrive in Dhaka last Thursday.

Joint Secretary of Bangladesh's Ministry of Science and Technology, Sheikh Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, told the media that although all preparations were completed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the consignment could not be sent due to not receiving air clearance.

He said, "We were waiting at the airport with full preparations. But the liaison officer of Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom informed us that the airspace of the concerned area was not open. As a result, the flight had to be cancelled and the next schedule will be rescheduled later."

However, no details were officially disclosed about exactly which country's airspace caused the delay or obstruction of the flight.

It may be mentioned that the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, built on the banks of the Padma river in Paksey union of Ishwardi upazila in Pabna district, is Bangladesh's first nuclear power project. The work on this project is progressing with Russia's technical assistance and under the supervision of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

A total of 2,400 megawatts of electricity will be generated from the third-generation 'VVER-1200' reactors of each of the two units of this power plant.