Visiting Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands Sigrid Kaag on Monday greeted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her contributions to empowering women in the country.
The visiting Dutch minister came up with the greeting while meeting with the prime minister in the morning, said diplomatic sources. During the meeting, Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Harry Verweij accompanied the visiting minister.
She said her government will continue its support to Bangladesh for finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.
However, she mentioned that the UN has raised question about the beginning of the repatriation of the Rohingya from Bangladesh, though it has reached an agreement with Myanmar to start repatriation on November 15.
The visiting Dutch minister said her country put emphasis on voluntary, safe, secured, and dignified repatriation and she will carry the message to the Myanmar government as well.
Sigrid Kaag arrived in Dhaka on Monday morning on a two-day official visit and she will visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar today (Tuesday).
In Cox’s Bazar, she will talk to camp people to know the plight of them on the ground. The Dutch minister is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Myanmar in the evening wrapping up her two-day visit.
In a statement, the Dutch foreign ministry said Sigrid Kaag will visit Bangladesh and Myanmar to witness the situation of the Rohingya crisis on the ground.
To gather accurate information about the crisis, she will talk to the Rohingya people and representative of development agencies during the visit.
The Dutch minister will also visit food distribution activities of World Food Programme (WFP) in Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar as her country would like to get comprehensive information about the Rohingya crisis.
During the visit, she will talk to policy makers, ministers, diplomats and members of the civil societies of the two countries to get a comprehensive insight over the crisis.
The statement also mentioned that Sigrid Kaag will also visit a textiles factory in Bangladesh to know about the working environment of the factory.
Bangladesh now enjoys good ties with the Netherlands that has recently assured to support Bangladesh to implement the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
The time-tested friend of Dhaka also assured to support in land reclamation and river dredging in Bangladesh.
The assurances came as Dhaka sought Dutch support under the broader framework of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 for mitigating long-term flood risks and adverse impacts of climate change through basin-wide water management, land reclamation, river-dredging, capacity building of Bangladesh River Research Institute and knowledge development through education and training.
The Netherlands has also assured support for exporting diversified jute products from Bangladesh to the EU market.
Bangladesh and The Netherlands established diplomatic relations in 1971 after the Independence of Bangladesh.
