Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the Netherlands to invest in the country’s shipbuilding sector by donating land.
“If you (Netherlands) wish, we can give you places for drydocks (in Bangladesh),” she told Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Anne Van Leeuwen, as he paid outgoing courtesy call on the premier at the latter’s office in the city.
Ihsanul Karim, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, informed media following the meeting.
During the meeting, both expressed pleasure with the current bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed optimism that economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the Netherlands would continue.
Several topics were discussed, including Delta Plan-2100, climate change, and the global economic crisis.
The departing envoy stated that he is pleased to be working here. “Bangladesh will remain in my heart,” he said.
According to Leeuwen, the Delta idea is a fantastic idea, and the Netherlands will assist Bangladesh in putting it into action.
He stated that Bangladesh may gain from the sharing of experiences in water management, agricultural development, and ICT because the Netherlands has sufficient expertise in these fields.
The Dutch ambassador expressed confidence that bilateral relations between the two countries will develop and strengthen in the coming days.
Bangladesh, according to Sheikh Hasina, intends to recapture areas similar to the Netherlands.
During the discussion on climate change, she stated that Bangladesh will have to survive cyclones and floods. “We need to deal with climate change effectively,” she stated.
In this context, the prime minister stated that the 1991 cyclone killed a large number of people. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, first built cyclone shelters in Bangladesh, and her government later expanded the initiative.
Concerning the global scenario, Sheikh Hasina stated that countries such as Bangladesh are under severe economic strain as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin and Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah were in attendance.
