Dutch NGOs reaffirm support for Bangladesh's dev efforts

Dutch NGOs have reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering development cooperation in Bangladesh, highlighting a sustained focus on collaborative efforts for meaningful progress and positive impact in the region.

The Bangladesh embassy in The Hague, a city on the North Sea coast of the western Netherlands, gathered 60 representatives from over 40 Dutch NGOs at the third conclave of Dutch NGOs who are actively engaged in Bangladesh in areas like children, women and girls, climate adaptation, health, education, water and sanitation, agriculture, and mental health.

Moderated by the Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands M Riaz Hamidullah, the conclave was addressed by Pascalle Grotenhuis, director general for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Wouter Jurgens, the director (Asia and Oceania) at the Dutch Foreign Ministry, reads a press release issued by the embassy on Saturday.

Bangladesh Ambassador Hamidullah elaborated on how the two deltaic people connect concerning innovation, resilience, and entrepreneurship despite differences in capacity and knowledge. 

Calling the Dutch NGOs "friends of Bangladesh people," he also elaborated on the areas and ideas as to how the Dutch NGOs could engage further in Bangladesh towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

In her keynote, Pascalle lauded Bangladesh's attainments over decades and shared her reflections on a socially-economically inclusive society towards the protection of vulnerable populations and fulfilling livelihood access worldwide.

Three Panels focused on cross-cutting themes of Inclusion, Climate Action and Livelihood. As many as ten Dutch experts and development practitioners from leading Dutch government entities, universities and NGOs reflected on the key issues impacting grassroots, women and children, and youth; the future challenges facing Bangladesh's economy and changing societal attitudes as also scope for testing transformative choices; discussed potential solutions; and ways to introduce technology-driven solutions to generate livelihood options for climate-vulnerable population.

The Netherlands International Cooperation Collection (NICC) highlighted a timeline of engagements of the Dutch NGOs/development organisations in diverse areas in Bangladesh over five decades. 

The Dutch NGOs and others joining the meet appreciated Bangladesh as an "open and liberal society" and a "living lab" contributing to many sustainable solutions, social cohesion and climate resilience, even beyond Bangladesh.