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MESSAGE
IT Is my pleasure to write a few words on the occasion of our National Day, the day on which Her Majesty Queen Beatrix officially celebrated her birthday. On thia day lota of festive event* are organized throughout the Netherlands centred around Her Majesty who, with members of the Royal Family, visits different parts of the country each year to attend (and Indeed participate) in these festivities I am very happy to celebrate this festive day in Bangladesh for the first time, with our Bangladeshi friends.
Relations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands have been excellent ever since our early recognition of Bangladesh's Independence In 1971. Since then we have been one of Bangladesh' longstanding Development Partners. Looking at the nature and character of both our countries it is only logical that there have been such strong bonds of friendship and mutual trust for so many years. Both Bangladesh and the Netherlands are low-lying green deltas facing a constant battle against floods, and both countries have resilient and strong people who are used to living with water as their greatest friend and biggest enemy at the same time.
Today our development programme of Euro 60 mln (BDT 600 crores) focuses on three sectors: primary education; water management, water supply and sanitation; and health, nutrition and population issues. Together with the Government of Bangladesh and the other development partners we are committed to the harmonisation and alignment of development programmes so that everybody wins by getting better results for the poor. The Millennium Development Goals are our main agenda in Bangladesh. For obvious reasons our longstanding cooperation in the watersector is very special to us. Elsewhere in this Special Supplement we are focusing on the water sector in more detail.
Special attention in our programmes is also given to good governance, to the role and position of women and to private sector development Our support to promoting the equal participation of women in all spheres of life is a longstanding effort of which we are particularly proud. During the past years we have seen many positive changes in the lives of women in Bangladesh but many challenges also remain.
Commercial relations are developing too but, for our mutual benefit, further development is necessary. The potential of Bangladesh lies in its huge human resources potential, which can produce low-cost and high quality products and services for a global market. And this is not limited to the garment sector only. In the past few months we have been witnessing a remarkable surge in European orders for ships, including substantial orders from the Netherlands, which few people would have expected even one year ago. The Increased aware ness that we have witnessed over the pest years within the various Industrial sectors as regards corporate social responsibility and environmental rosponslbll Ity Is encouraging and should be strengthened further. In my opinion, instead of only stressing low wages, socially and environmentally responsible {induction will provide Bangladesh with a real and ong term niche in the international market.
Like Bangladesh, the Netherlands Is eager to play Its role on the International stage. In our case, the involvement in the 1SAF mission In Afghanistan to bring stability and foster development comes to my mind foremost. Bangladesh's substantial contributions to many UN peacekeeping operations, to stabilise countries and regions, have met with praise and appreciation over the years, and I want to fully associate myself with that. It is very encouraging that the Caretaker Government, now in Its second year, has shown great commitment to work towards free and fair elections by the end of this year. We are pleased to be part of this effort through our contribution to the voter registration project which plays a crucial role in preparing for the elections.
Finally, let me assure you that the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dhaka will continue to play our active part to further strengthen the relations and build bridges between our countries.