Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The new Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, Gerben de Jong, will arrive in the capital Dhaka on August 21.
He will soon present his credentials accompanied by the current Charge d’ Affaires Carel Richter, a press statement said on Wednesday.
Born in 1950, Gerben de Jong started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in 1991.
He served as the ambassador in Dakar, Senegal.
Bangladesh is one of the priority countries for Dutch development cooperation and has recently also been put on the list of priority countries for economic relations and trade, said the release.
It said the Netherlands provides grants to the tune of about Euro 50 million through civil society organizations and another Euro 60 million through embassy programs per year.
The Netherlands signed an MoU with Bangladesh in May this year to prepare “Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100” which is a long term framework for managing water for production, transportation, drinking water and sanitation and industrial waste water management in Bangladesh.
Besides, the Netherlands focuses on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Food Security.
The release said the Netherlands was the third largest investor in Bangladesh during the fiscal year 2011-12.
Gerben de Jong looks forward to taking up his position in Bangladesh and hopes that close and friendly relationships between the two countries will fortify even further during his tenure, it added.
BBN/SSR/AD-16Aug12-1:40 am (BST)
