The Dutch-Bangla friendship has more potential
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas visit to the Netherlands is the first ever by a Bangladeshi head of government to that country. The visit promises to be a fruitful one with four bilateral instruments signed. The Dutch authorities have expressed keen interest on establishing Bangladeshs deep seaports. The Netherlands was one of the first nations to recognise Bangladesh after the 1971 Liberation War and has had a development relationship with the country ever since. Though still very modest, trade relations between the two nations are growing, with the Dutch becoming the third biggest investor in Bangladesh in 2012. For decades now this nation has been involved in Bangladeshs water sector.
Between 2012 and 2015 the emphasis will be on sustainable and participatory water management, river management, drinking water and sanitation. In 2012 the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangladeshi government setting out agreements to continue improving cooperation on water management and climate change, aimed at preventing rivers from becoming salinised, encouraging land reclamation and helping control flooding.
The MoU was prompted by the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Bangladesh wants to join forces with the Netherlands to work on a comprehensive approach to the water industry. A large number of Bangladeshi students are following a programme of study, thanks to a grant awarded by the Netherlands Fellowship
Programme (NFP).
Bangladesh is one of the five delta countries included in the Dutch Water Mondiaal Program and there are high expectations for this intensified bilateral cooperation in which climate adaptation through sustainable climate resilient initiatives, innovation and support for a long term (50 to 100 years) vision on a sustainable Delta Plan framework are being elaborated.
The Delta Plan is supposed to act as an umbrella for all present and future activities within the water management and directly related sectors to be undertaken in a holistic manner in order to bring water safety and improve the livelihood of all Bangladesh citizens. Similar approaches have been successfully applied in the Netherlands since 1953 and more recently in a Delta Plan cooperation between Vietnam (Mekong Delta) and the Netherlands. The Netherlands funds activities on trans-boundary river management and cleaner production mechanism in the industrial sector. The nation leads the local donor group that deals with water management and tries to bring all partners in the water sector together.
Bangladesh and the Netherlands have a lot to offer to each other in terms of economic cooperation also. Economic growth in Bangladesh has led to increased export from successful sectors, such as shipbuilding and ready-made-garments, to the Netherlands.
