Published : 04 Aug 2026, 02:55 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:30 AM
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed has said the government will view positively a US proposal to sign a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to revive civil nuclear cooperation with Bangladesh.
About the proposal, she said on Monday: “The government's stance is positive. If any bilateral agreement or relationship with the United States serves the interests of the people of Bangladesh, we will move forward.
“And if it is not in the interest of the people, we will reconsider it.”
US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Sergio Gor met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman last week, during which the proposal to renew the civil nuclear cooperation framework was raised.
Foreign ministry officials said Bangladesh and the US first signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 1981, which was renewed in 1991 but was not extended afterwards.
Washington now seeks to revive the framework through a new MoU as construction of Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant at Rooppur, built with Russian assistance, nears completion.
According to an official, the agreement would establish a new legal basis for continued cooperation between the two countries while limiting its scope to peaceful civilian purposes.
The US signs such agreements under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, leading them to be commonly known as 123 agreements.
According to the US Department of Energy, Washington currently has agreements with 26 countries and organisations, covering civil nuclear cooperation with at least 50 countries.
