The Hague, 21 February 2018: Bangladesh and the Netherlands agreed to strengthen knowledge and innovation driven broad-based partnership for sustainable development. Based on their agreed terms, both the countries agreed to unroll more initiatives toward harnessing mutual complementariness. The agreement reached at the third Foreign Office Consultations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands held on 20 February 2018 in The Hague.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md. ShahidulHaque and the Secretary-General of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yoka Brandtled the respective delegations at the Foreign Office Consultations. Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal and representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources, and Planning Commission of Bangladesh, among others, also joined the Foreign Office Consultations.

The third Foreign Office Consultations reviewed at length existing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands and decided to strengthen existing multifaceted cooperation, and identified new areas of collaboration for the sustainable development of Bangladesh. The two sides discussed about the follow-up of the official visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Netherlands in November 2015 and her invitation to the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to undertake an official visit to Bangladesh this year for joint launching of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary appreciated the Dutch technical assistance for the formulation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and the Dutch side assured to extend technical assistance and share their knowledge and long experience for the implementation of the Plan. The two sides also decided to collaborate in the areas of value-chain development in the textile and RMG, land reclamation, cyber security, blue economy, trade and investment, greenhouse agriculture, dairy farming, aquaculture, etc. sectors of Bangladesh. Praising Bangladesh’s spectacular socio-economic development, the Dutch side assured to support Bangladesh during its transition to a middle income country from a LDC and its efforts towards attaining SDGs.

The issue of Rohingya crisis featured prominently at the Foreign Office Consultations. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary appreciated the Netherlands for their support to Bangladesh on the Rohingya crisis at the UN and other international fora. The Dutch Secretary-General highly appreciated Bangladesh for giving shelter to forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh and assured to remain seized with the Rohingya crisis during their chairmanship of the UN Security Council in March this year. Expressing deep appreciation to Bangladesh for support to Dutch non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council for 2018, the Dutch Secretary General highlighted that during their UN Security Council membership, the Netherlands will focus on prevention of conflict, accountability for atrocity crimes and reform of UN peacekeeping operations. Accordingly, the Dutch government reiterated their resolve to make the perpetrators accountable for their deeds.

Bangladesh and the Netherlands held the first Foreign Office Consultations in September 2015 in The Hague and the second in Dhaka in May 2016.
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