Netherlands wants to continue support to Bangladesh, Dutch minister tells Hasina

The Netherlands has assured Bangladesh of continuing its support to Bangladesh's development strides.

Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Corporation Sigrid AM Kaag made the assurance when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Ganabhaban on Monday.

Cooperation between the two countries has enhanced to a great extent and her country now wants to strengthen it, particularly in the fields of trade and development, Kaag said.

They are also extending cooperation towards Bangladesh on the Delta Plan-2100, she said, according to the prime minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.

The Dutch minister said they were keen to do more business and invest more in Bangladesh and expressed keenness to work in the industrial sectors.

Minister Kaag praised Bangladesh's tremendous development under the leadership of Hasina, Karim said.

The projects and plans undertaken by her government were “really the game changer”, she told Hasina, according to Karim.

The prime minister said her government has adopted the Delta Plan considering the future generations and potential changes in the people’s needs.

She called for Dutch investment in the 100 economic zones her government is setting up.

Hasina also recalled with gratitude that the Netherlands was one of the first European countries to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country.

Prime Minister’s International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi, Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman and BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman were present, among others.