Innovative Prince now King of the Netherlands

With his inauguration on April 30 of last year, King Willem-Alexander declared to take pride in representing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that he will work to uncover new opportunities. "I want to establish ties, make connections and exemplify what unites us, the Dutch people, and not only in times of great joy or deep sorrow. Thus, as King, I can strengthen the bond of mutual trust between the people and their government, maintain our democracy and serve the public interest". But the King is not only dedicated to establish ties, connections and trust with the Dutch. He also feels involved with a host of global problems, such as food security, poverty, environmental challenges and water-related topics.
As a prince, he travelled around the world to draw attention to water-related issues and to promote quality sanitation for all. Since chairing the second World Water Forum thirteen years ago, and putting water and sanitation concerns on the global agenda, the King has been highly involved with water-related development projects. He also emphasizes that the Netherlands is eager to share its knowledge and experience in the field of water and sanitation, adding that there are plenty of opportunities to learn. In a recent discussion with the newly appointed Bangladeshi ambassador to the Netherlands, the King stated that the Netherlands also learned a few lessons from Bangladesh on flood management and post-flood rehabilitation.
In 2012 the two countries agreed to work together on a Delta Plan for Bangladesh. On the 24th of March, an agreement for the "Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100" Project was signed between the two governments and on the 12th of March a contract was signed with a consortium led by a Dutch consultancy firm responsible for technical assistance. The project is currently in its inception phase. The Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka and the Government of Bangladesh are happy to have reached this milestone and are keen to start with the project.