Bangladesh and the Netherlands today reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in water resources management, with a focus on knowledge sharing,

technology transfer, research and capacity building.

The commitment was made when Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anne met Netherlands Ambassador to Bangladesh Joris Van Bommel at the Bangladesh Secretariat. State Minister for Water

Resources Forhad Hossain Azad was also present at the meeting.

During the meeting, the minister described the Netherlands as one of Bangladesh's trusted development

partners and said the two countries enjoy longstanding and cordial relations.

He called for enhanced cooperation in exchanging experiences in water resources management, technical

collaboration, professional training, research and the development of skilled human resources.

Referring to the government's development agenda, the minister said the Padma Barrage Project has

already been approved in line with the government's election pledge to fulfil the long-standing

aspirations of people in the country's south-western and north-western regions.

He also expressed optimism that the Teesta Master Plan would be approved soon after the completion of

the necessary studies and feasibility assessments.

State Minister Forhad Hossain Azad recalled that the Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman signed a

memorandum of understanding with the Netherlands in 1977 to promote technical cooperation in water

resources management.

He sought the continuation of the Netherlands' support for Bangladesh's socio-economic development.

The Dutch ambassador said Bangladesh and the Netherlands share many similarities as deltaic countries

with comparable geographical characteristics.

He reaffirmed his government's interest in supporting Bangladesh in sustainable water resources

management, riverbank protection and erosion control, while expressing hope that the Netherlands would

continue its partnership in Bangladesh's socio-economic development.