KATHMANDU: A meeting of the joint steering committee (JSC) consisting of energy secretaries of Nepal and India is taking place in Kathmandu from today.

The meeting that is taking place in-person after more than two years will last for two days. Before the meeting of secretaries, joint secretaries also will hold a meeting of their joint working group (JWG) to prepare agenda items for the JSC meeting.

The JSC meeting will be led by Energy Secretary Devendra Karki on behalf of the Nepal government and Secretary Alok Kumar from the Indian side.

Nepal wants India to agree on the joint investment in an inter-country transmission line aside from other hydropower projects. Similarly, it also wants the southern neighbor to be more clear on inter-country energy trade.

Observers have been keeping their close eyes at the meeting as Nepal is expected to produce surplus energy in the monsoon from this year and looking for international markets to sell it. It is learnt that Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will float a proposal to sell 850-megawatt electricity to India in the meeting.

The JSC meeting which needs to be held every six months has not taken place for more than two years due to COVID-19.