Bandudeltas: Bangladesh, Netherlands and the World Bank sign MoU for Delta Management

Published: 06.17.2015

Bandudeltas: Bangladesh, Netherlands and the World Bank sign MoU for Delta Management

The government of Bangladesh signed an agreement on 16 June 2015 with the Netherlands and the World Bank Group including its private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) with the 2030 Water Resources Group to strengthen management of the Bangladesh Delta, Asia’s largest and the world’s most populated delta. The partnership will help to develop and implement the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, a long term and holistic vision for the Bangladesh Delta, and help to realize Bangladesh’s goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 while maintaining the unique biodiversity and physical characteristics of the delta.

A signing ceremony titled ‘Towards resilient and sustainable Delta Management for a prosperous Bangladesh” was organized by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Planning Commission and the World Bank in this regards at the NEC Conference Room of the Planning Commission at Sher-e-bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Mr. Abul Maal A. Muhith, MP Honourable Minister, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh was the Chief Guest of the ceremony. In his speech, the Chief Guest spoke about the scarcity of clean water in the world today and commented that countries need to work together in order to find the best ways of dealing with such issues. Honourable Minister of Agriculture Begum Matia Chowdhury, Honourable Minister for Water Resources Mr. Anisul Islam Mahmud, Honourable State Minister for Water Resources Mr. Muhammad Nazrul Islam, Bir Protik, international delegates, representatives of the World Bank and the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 Formulation Project were present as well.

Dutch Ministers Lilianne Ploumen (International Trade and Development) and Melanie Schultz van Haegen (Infrastructure and Environment) was present. They are in Bangladesh for the week for a number of activities. According to the the Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, their visit aims to strengthen the trade- and development relation between the Netherlands and Bangladesh within the themes of textile and water management. They are accompanied by a multi-stakeholder mission of Dutch companies, trade unions, NGO’s and pension fund investors.

Dr. Professor Shamsul Alam, Member (Senior Secretary), General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission, presented the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 at the signing ceremony. In his presentation, he highlighted many of the salient features of BDP 2100 and said that the delta plan will “address issues related to the harnessing and development of all forms of surface water and ground water and management of these resources in an efficient and equitable manner.”

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Lilianne Ploumen, Lia Carol Sieghart, and Anders Berntell, on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh, Government of Netherland, the World Bank and IFC/ 2030 WRG respectively.

See other related news clippings from other news sources:

Bangladesh:

BD News 24: http://bdnews24.com/economy/2015/06/17/bangladesh-netherlands-ifc-ida-sign-mou-for-sustainable-delta-management

The Financial Express: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/06/17/96952

United News of Bangladesh: http://unb.com.bd/mou-delta-plan

The Daily Sun: http://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/51442/Govt-plans-to-uphold-biodiversity-of-delta

Samakal: http://www.samakal.net/2015/06/16/143707

Manobzamin: https://www.mzamin.com/details.php?mzamin=Nzk4OTY=&s=Nw==

Bonik Barta: http://www.bonikbarta.com/2015-06-17/news/details/40156.html

Jana Kantha: http://www.dailyjanakantha.com/?p=details&csl=126706

Ittefaq: http://www.ittefaq.com.bd/print-edition/second-edition/2015/06/17/55176.html

Banglanews24: http://www.banglanews24.com/fullnews/bn/402289.html