Staff Correspondent
The Netherlands Ambassador Irma van Dueren had a courtesy meeting recently with Mr. Muhammad
Ibrahim, Secretary, Local Government Division. During the meeting they highlighted the contribution
of The Netherlands in the development of Bangladesh and collaboration with not only Local
Government Division, but also with the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Health. In
particular they discussed the Dutch contribution to the WASH sector and to the Dhaka Food System
Project which has led to the development of a forward looking Dhaka Food Agenda 2041.
The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the development of a safe, sustainable and resilient
food system for the Dhaka Metropolitan Area.
The project focused on the areas of: Strengthening food system planning and governance;
Promoting nutrition and food security; Upgrading fresh markets; Reducing food loss and waste;
Improving food safety and consumer awareness and Strengthening food value chains.
An example of great collaboration between The Netherlands and Bangladesh