Bangladesh first conceived building a nuclear power plant in 1961. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission was established after independence in 1973. The country currently operates a TRIGA research reactor at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Savar.

More recently, in 2001 Bangladesh adopted a national Nuclear Power Action Plan. On 24 June 2007, Bangladesh’s government announced plans to build a nuclear power plant to meet electricity shortages. In May 2010, Bangladesh entered into a civilian nuclear agreement with the Russian Federation. It also has framework agreements for peaceful nuclear energy applications with the US, France and China.