DELTA PLAN-2100 : Netherlands, BD agree to work together [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

DELTA PLAN-2100 : Netherlands, BD agree to work together

Local November 06, 2015

Bangladesh and the Netherlands have agreed to work more closely for the implementation of the ‘Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100’ to make the delta safe and productive for the people of those areas in Bangladesh.
Both the countries also decided to work sincerely for boosting bilateral trade and investment between the two friendly countries.
The consensus came during bilateral talks between visiting Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte at ‘Catshuis’, the official residence of the Dutch prime minister, on Wednesday.
As her Dutch counterpart expressed interest in Bangladesh deep sea port projects, Sheikh Hasina assured the Dutch side of her government’s due consideration of the port projects proposition.
A joint statement issued after the talks said prime minister Sheikh Hasina and prime minister Rutte had during their detailed discussions on bilateral and global issues of mutual interest, including trade and investment, private sector development, agriculture, port development, and the rule of law, followed by dinner with focus on water management hosted by prime minister Rutte.
‘The two prime ministers have agreed to work together to make densely populated delta areas across the world safer and economically more viable in the framework of the delta coalition,’ the statement said.
The two leaders said both Bangladesh and the Netherlands are countries of deltaic nature and there exists immense scope for cooperation between the two countries in the areas of delta management, water resources management and other related areas.
In that context, the two PMs expressed satisfaction over the signing of the MoU, ‘Towards Resilient and Sustainable Delta Management for a Prosperous Bangladesh’, and a ‘Letter of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Land Reclamation and Accretion in Bangladesh’ between the two countries in June 2015.
Sheikh Hasina lauded the expertise of the Netherlands in delta management, and thanked the Dutch prime minister for their support in the development of Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100.
She also underscored the importance of an effective partnership arrangement with the government of the Netherlands under Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100 for long-term capacity building through education and training.
The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction that Bangladesh and the Netherlands have developed a strong and mutually beneficial partnership at bilateral and multilateral levels.
Recognising the long-standing relations between the two countries, the two prime ministers reaffirmed their commitment towards further strengthening the ties.
The two sides expressed satisfaction at the ministerial level visits in recent times and agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and consultations. They underlined the role of such exchanges in further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the holding of first-ever bilateral consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs of Bangladesh and the Netherlands which was held on September 10, 2015 in The Hague, agreeing to make the FOC a platform for regular dialogue between the two countries, including on political and social issues.
The two leaders agreed that economic cooperation and trade constitute a key element for strengthening bilateral relations, and noted with satisfaction that Netherlands is a leading export destination for Bangladeshi goods and one of the top FDI sources for Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina apprised her Dutch counterpart of various measures taken and incentives offered to promote foreign direct investment in Bangladesh and invited Dutch investors to invest in the emerging sectors such as pharmaceuticals, leather, agro-processing, light engineering, jute, shipbuilding, power and energy particularly renewable energy, infrastructure in water and marine sector, IT and tourism.
She also informed the Dutch prime minister of her government’s measures to transform the readymade garments sector into a model of sustainable industrialisation, and sought the Netherlands’ support to address the issues relating to ‘access to finance’ and ‘fair pricing’ in the RMG sector of Bangladesh.
The Netherlands appreciated Bangladesh government’s strong commitment towards a sustainable RMG sector, encouraged the government of Bangladesh to play a leading role in the sector and assured of their cooperation in this regard.
Both sides recognised the important role of the United Nations in peacekeeping operations and its contribution to international peace and security.
Rutte praised Bangladesh as a top troop and police contributing-country to the United Nations
peacekeeping operations, and thanked Bangladesh for the support for
the non-permanent seat for the Netherlands in the UN Security Council for 2017-18.
The two prime ministers welcomed the adoption of ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ at the UNGA in September 2015which encompasses the idea of human security and global partnership, and affirmed their continued efforts to the implementation of the agenda.