Rooppur to supply 300MW to nat’l grid next month: Envoy

The first phase of 300 megawatts of electricity from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to be supplied to the national grid by next month, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Khozin said on Wednesday.

Around 4,000 Russian specialists and engineers are working to resolve technical issues, he said during a meeting with Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque at the FBCCI office in Gulshan.

According to a press release issued by the business body, Khozin said the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed establishing a joint Russia-Bangladesh Business Council to expand trade, investment and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The chamber also plans to organise a Russia-Bangladesh Business Forum in Moscow, where entrepreneurs from both countries will have opportunities for direct business-to-business (B2B) meetings.

Khozin said a formal announcement on the proposed business council could be made at a meeting of the Bangladesh-Russia Intergovernmental Commission scheduled to take place in Dhaka in early November.

He said the proposed Moscow forum would bring Bangladeshi and Russian entrepreneurs together for sector-specific sessions and direct B2B meetings based on the profiles of participating businesses.

FBCCI Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque called for greater focus on emerging sectors alongside the readymade garment (RMG) industry to expand bilateral trade.

He identified pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods, jute and jute products, ceramics and the export of Bangladeshi manpower to Russia as areas with potential.

The Russian ambassador said Russia's Health Ministry was reviewing procedural and legal issues related to importing generic medicines from Bangladesh.

He also said there was strong demand in Russia for heavy footwear and leather products suitable for the country's severe winter.

Russia has issued visas to around 3,000 Bangladeshi workers in recent months, with employment opportunities emerging in agriculture, fisheries, shipbuilding and services, according to Khozin.

Both sides expressed hope that stronger cooperation between the government and private sector would further deepen commercial ties between Bangladesh and Russia.