India has invited Bangladesh to join the International Big Cat Alliance as both sides explore wider cooperation on wildlife conservation, renewable energy, carbon trading and broader climate priorities.
Bangladesh has been invited to become a full member of the International Big Cat Alliance, a global initiative led by India to protect major big cat species, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo at the Secretariat, Verma said Dhaka and New Delhi are exploring cooperation areas aligned with national priorities, with environment and climate change ranking high.
“Environment and climate change are very important parts of our domestic governance in India and Bangladesh,” he said.
Verma said Bangladesh had already attended the inaugural meeting of the alliance, which India launched in April 2023 to conserve seven major big cats: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, puma and cheetah.
The High Commissioner also highlighted India’s progress in renewable energy, noting the country’s ambitious plan to reach 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the coming years.
“I briefed the Minister about what we are doing in the renewable energy sector. India has a very ambitious target. It has achieved a lot in terms of its renewable energy and non-fossil fuel energy portfolio,” he said.
He said India shared its experience on institutional mechanisms used to expand renewable energy capacity and discussed potential collaboration with Bangladesh in capacity building.
Verma added that both sides identified common areas of interest including climate change, energy transition and renewable energy.
“We also discussed in detail about carbon trading system, which Bangladesh is also going to introduce,” he said, noting that India already operates a carbon trading market. “These are the kind of experiences that we shared, and we discussed how we can take them forward.”
The two sides also discussed cooperation in forestry and wildlife conservation as well as joint engagement in global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
Verma described the meeting as “excellent,” saying discussions focused on strengthening bilateral and international cooperation in the coming days.
