About the seminar

The geopolitics of energy in the midst of numerous crises such as climate change, earthquakes and political instability is a topic of significance, and Nepal offers valuable lessons in this regard. These challenges have had profound implications for Nepal's energy sector and its relationship with neighboring countries. Nepal's energy scarcity has forced the country to heavily rely on energy imports, particularly from India. This dependence has given rise to geopolitical complexities, as energy becomes intertwined with political and economic dynamics between the two nations. Disputes over pricing, supply, and infrastructure development have emerged, reflecting the challenges faced by smaller nations in navigating energy geopolitics as well as energy transition. 

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About the speakers

Dipak Gyawali

Gyawali is Chairperson of Interdisciplinary Analysts (IDA). He is an academic at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology and guest senior research scholar with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria. He conducts interdisciplinary research at technology-society interface from perspectives of Cultural Theory. As a hydroelectric power engineer (Moscow Energy Institute) and a political economist (UC Berkeley, CA), he served as Nepal’s Minister of Water Resources in 2002/03 and initiated community electricity.

Gyawali has also chaired or served in advisory boards and review missions of various international organizations including EU’s water research review, US Pacific Northwest National Lab, Myanmar’s Ayeyarwadi IRBM, Mekong River Commission, World Bank’s Inspection Panel, Stockholm International Water Institute, UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Program and IDS Sussex’s STEPs Center. 

Sudhindra Sharma 

Sharma is the Executive Director of IDA. He has been with IDA and has guided it since its inception in 1996. He is a Sociologist by training and has over twenty years of experience working in research and development in Nepal, Afghanistan, India, Finland, and Thailand. He is the author of the book Procuring Water: Foreign Aid and Rural Water Supply in Nepal (2001) and a co-editor of the book Aid Under Stress: Water, Forests and Finnish Support in Nepal (2004).