Bangladesh and the United States have entered into an agreement aimed at cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The agreement was announced by the BNP media cell on Saturday through a post on Facebook.

Rehan Asad, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Science and Technology, signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh. Jacob Helberg, Secretary, signed the document on behalf of the United States.

The BNP media cell said the initiative for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy was first undertaken in 1981 during the regime of the late President Ziaur Rahman. It described the latest agreement as a continuation of that earlier effort, but did not provide further details about the scope, implementation mechanism or specific areas of cooperation.

The agreement comes as Bangladesh continues to develop its first nuclear power facility, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, with technical assistance from Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.

At the same time, the delivery of uranium fuel intended for Unit 2 of the Rooppur plant has been delayed. The fuel shipment was expected to arrive in Bangladesh on Thursday. However, the consignment did not reach Dhaka because the aircraft reportedly lacked the necessary airspace clearance.

Bangladeshi authorities had completed preparations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and were waiting for the shipment. Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, Joint Secretary at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Science and Technology, said the liaison officer from ROSATOM informed officials that the airspace was not clear.

“We had completed all the preparations at the airport and were waiting, but the liaison officer from ROSATOM told us that the airspace was not clear. So we could not send it. It may need to be rescheduled,” he told ANI by telephone.

Bangladeshi officials were unable to identify the country or authority that had blocked or withheld permission for the aircraft to use the relevant airspace. The shipment was reportedly scheduled to arrive from Russia aboard a cargo aircraft. A separate report also stated that the aircraft did not arrive in Bangladesh after airspace clearance was not granted.

ANI contacted a ROSATOM representative by email to seek clarification about the reason for the delay. ROSTOM had not responded at the time of publication.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is being constructed in Rooppur village, along the banks of the Padma River. The site is located in Pakshi Union, within Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District. The project is being developed under the oversight of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, with technical assistance from ROSATOM.

It consists of two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units.

Together, the two reactors are designed to generate 2,400 megawatts of baseload electricity, with each unit having a planned capacity of 1,200 megawatts. The VVER-1200 is a pressurised-water reactor design developed for large-scale electricity generation.

The project is intended to help Bangladesh meet rising electricity demand and reduce its dependence on natural gas for power generation. The revised schedule reported in 2025 placed commercial operation of Unit 1 in December 2026 and Unit 2 in December 2027.

Bangladesh formally entered the nuclear power era when the first shipment of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 arrived safely from Russia. The fuel was manufactured by ROSATOM’s Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant.

The first consignment consisted of 164 fresh fuel assemblies, including one additional assembly beyond the 163 assemblies required for the reactor core. The fuel was flown directly from Russia to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka aboard a heavy-lift Russian cargo aircraft. The shipment was handled under strict international safeguards.

After arriving in Dhaka, the radiation-shielded containers were transported to the Rooppur site through a heavily secured 300-kilometre “green corridor”. The route was guarded by the Bangladesh Army and other law-enforcement agencies. The fuel was formally handed over at the plant site in Ishwardi, Pabna, during an official ceremony in October 2023.

The early delivery of the fuel enabled Rooppur personnel to carry out inspections, verify the condition of the assemblies, complete quality-control procedures and familiarise themselves with handling and loading operations.

Fuel loading for Unit 1 subsequently became a major pre-operational milestone for the plant.

The reactor is designed to operate with 163 fuel assemblies at a time, while the additional assembly delivered in 2023 provides a spare. Each operating fuel cycle is expected to last approximately 18 months.

The Rooppur project has experienced delays linked to construction, regulatory approvals, transmission infrastructure and wider logistical difficulties. Earlier reports attributed schedule pressures partly to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing conflict in Ukraine.

Bangladesh has also faced delays related to the completion of transmission lines required to connect the plant to the national grid. In September 2026, Bangladesh and ROSATOM agreed to accelerate work at Rooppur so that electricity generation could begin and power could be supplied to the national grid as soon as possible.

The Bangladesh–US agreement could provide a broader framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation, although the BNP media cell has not yet disclosed specific provisions.

The available announcement does not state whether the agreement covers nuclear safety, regulatory cooperation, medical isotopes, research, training, fuel-cycle activities or other civil nuclear applications. Further details from the Bangladeshi or US authorities will be needed to establish the agreement’s precise legal and technical scope.

The agreement also takes place against the background of Bangladesh’s growing nuclear-energy programme and its efforts to establish the institutional, regulatory and logistical capabilities required to operate large power reactors safely.

With two VVER-1200 units planned at Rooppur, the project is expected to become a major component of Bangladesh’s future electricity-generation system once both reactors are completed and connected to the national grid.

ANI