Dutch Vice-Minister for International Cooperation Pascalle Grotenhuis held a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka today to discuss broadening cooperation across several key sectors. The discussion, held at the State Guest House Jamuna, centered on expanding collaboration in agriculture, trade and investment, technology, and youth development.
A significant point of discussion was the potential creation of a social business fund aimed at supporting young and women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Regarding the political climate, the two leaders addressed Bangladesh's democratic transition. Professor Yunus reaffirmed his government's commitment to ensuring a free, fair, credible, and festive election in the first half of the following February. Professor Yunus noted that the Awami League would be unable to participate in the upcoming election as the Election Commission had suspended its registration and banned its activities. He emphasized the historic nature of the upcoming poll, expecting a record number of young people to cast their first ballots, having been unable to vote in what he termed the three "rigged general elections" under the previous autocratic regime. He mentioned the youth who were active during the recent uprising would now exercise their democratic right to vote.
The visiting Dutch minister praised Bangladesh's election preparations, acknowledging the short timeframe the interim government had to organize the vote. Grotenhuis also commended Bangladesh's newly enacted labour laws, stating they would help attract increased Dutch and European investment. These sweeping reforms were recently approved by the cabinet and signed into law by the President.
Looking ahead, Pascalle Grotenhuis announced the Netherlands' plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Public-Private Partnership with Bangladesh's investment authorities. She expressed optimism for the swift signing of the MoU, which is expected to pave the way for greater Dutch investment.
She highlighted the evolving nature of the bilateral relationship: "For 50 years, Bangladesh and the Netherlands were development partners. Now we want to transform this into an equitable partnership in politics, trade, and investment." The minister added that Dutch companies, long-time buyers of goods from Dhaka, are now actively looking to invest and become working partners in Bangladesh.
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