Seminar on “Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100” in the Netherlands

The delta bond between Bangladesh and the Netherlands was reassured in a seminar at the Littéraire Sociëteit De Witte in The Hague on 21 January 2019.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal, in his speech, expected that that the Netherlands, with its vast reservoir of knowledge and technology, huge pool of water and delta related business entities and knowledge institutions as well as enormous goodwill for Bangladesh, will come forward to support Bangladesh to implement the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.

Ambassador Belal appreciated Dutch innovation and creativity in securing their country from the scourge of floods despite large part of its being below the mean sea level and underscored that the Dutch ingeniosity in delta management would be critical in implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 as well like its technical assistance to Bangladesh in formulating the plan.

The Ambassador recalled the historic visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Netherlands in November 2015 and the twin-ministerial visit from the Netherlands to Bangladesh in June 2015 towards forging institutional cooperation between the two delta countries and the Dutch assurance for the implementation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 to make our delta safe and productive for the people.

Ambassador Belal also urged Dutch support for implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and be a partner of development through implementation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, which is premised on greater attention to the grassroots through its in-built bottom-up approach.

Prof. Dr. Jaap de Heer, Team Leader and Director of the Consortium assigned to prepare the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, made a keynote presentation in the seminar. He elaborated on the genesis of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and explained the key features of the plan and implementation challenges. Appreciating the Government of Bangladesh for undertaking a long-term plan for sustainable deltaic Bangladesh, Professor Jaap de Heer underscored the need to mobilize required fund and appropriate institutions to implement the plan.

As the delta management in Bangladesh will largely depend upon cooperation with the Himalayan basin countries due to Bangladesh’s many trans-boundary rivers, Professor Jaap de Heer also emphasized the need to have broader regional cooperation in the water sector across the basin states.

The Ambassador and Professor Jaap de Heer responded to the questions asked by the distinguished members of the Asian Table. The program was conducted by Secretary of the Asian Table Mr. Ronald Staallekker. Amongst the audience, there were former ambassadors, civil servants, politicians, consultants in different fields with experience in Asia in general and Bangladesh in particular.

The  Littéraire Sociëteit De Witte  in The Hague is an elite institution known for its selective but very professionally rendered events for its members.