He cited the Bhutan-India and India-Nepal trade in power as good examples of cross border power trading.

Bhutan is supplying almost 1200-1400 MW power to the Indian grid and the arrangement between the two countries has been working to the satisfaction of both sides, he pointed out.

The success of power trading between Bhutan and India has encouraged the two countries to take up more hydro-electric projects through cooperative ventures, he said, adding that many Indian public sector companies are working with the Bhutan government to add 10,000 MW capacity there by 2020.

The minister also called for increasing private investment in power generation in the region, saying that out of the over 58,000 MW power projects under construction in India, private developers are supporting about 32,339 MW.

The one-day conference was attended by the delegates from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.