Dutch keen to boost ties with BD

People of the Netherlands take “huge interest” in Bangladesh as both countries face common challenges in flood control and water management, Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans has said. In a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali at his office at The Hague on Wednesday, he said that King Willem-Alexander himself took “keen interest” in Bangladesh’s flood-control efforts and climate change adaptation. He also expressed his government’s continued interest in working with Bangladesh to address the growing challenges posed by climate change. Timmermans said Bangladesh and the Netherlands enjoy “the closest” of bilateral ties. Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali appreciated the Dutch development cooperation projects targeted at water management, agricultural productivity and income generation in hard-to-reach char areas. The minister is currently on a visit to the Hague to attend a “high-level segment” of the Global Oceans Action Summit for Food Security and Blue Growth, being jointly organised by the government of the Netherlands, FAO and the World Bank, according to a news agency.