The Netherlands has expressed its interest to continue to work with Bangladesh to address the growing challenges posed by the climate change.
“Bangladesh and the Netherlands enjoy the closest bilateral ties, and there is a huge amount of interest among the Dutch about Bangladesh due to the commonalities of challenges we face with flood control and water management,” said Frans Timmermans, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands.
Timmermans conveyed this during a bilateral meeting with visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at his office on Wednesday, according to a Foreign Ministry media release here.
Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali is currently on a visit to Hague to attend the high-level segment of the Global Oceans Action Summit for Food Security and Blue Growth, being jointly organised by the Netherlands Government, FAO and the World Bank.
Both the Ministers also agreed to explore the possibility of institutionalising a regular mechanism of bilateral Foreign Office consultations.
The Dutch Foreign Minister said that the King of the Netherlands, as an expert in water management, took keen interest in Bangladesh’s work with flood control and climate change adaptation.
Mahmood Ali appreciated the Dutch development cooperation projects targeted at water management, agricultural productivity and income generation in char areas.
He also thanked the Dutch government for its contribution to ILO’s Better Work Programme being implemented to improve working conditions in Bangladesh’s RMG sector.
