The Netherlands' diplomatic and development ties with Bangladesh since the latter's independence in 1971 have been founded on collaboration and trust. The policy pursued in the period 2014-2018 was based on ‘A world to Gain’, the policy paper on aid, trade and investment adopted by the Government of the Netherlands (GoN) in 2013. The document identified the policy as marking Bangladesh’s transition from aid recipient to stable trading partner in the relationship.
Economic context
GoN's development co-operation program in Bangladesh, with a total budget delegated to the embassy of 170 million euro, was set out in the multi-annual strategic plan 2014-2017. An important element of the work of the Dutch embassy in this period involved measures to improve labor conditions in the ready-made garment industry in the wake of the tragic events at the textile factories Tazreen in 2012 and Rana Plaza in 2013 (see separate section below). The ready-made garment industry represents 80% of Bangladesh’s foreign earnings.
With a population of 160 million and an economic growth rate of 6.5%, Bangladesh is a strong emerging economy that has proven surprisingly resilient to global economic events. With two million people entering the workforce every year, creating employment is a key challenge.
Despite the political turmoil that has characterized its history since independence in 1971, Bangladesh is a competitive economy with ambitions to achieve middle-income-country status. In March 2018, the UN declared Bangladesh a lower-middle income country. Graduation from least-developed country (LDC) status is foreseen for 2024.
The country has a large and very active civil society, although space for free expression and political freedom is increasingly constrained.
Bangladesh has made remarkable progress on key development indicators. For example, poverty has fallen from 48.9% in 2000 to 24.8% in 2015 and dramatic improvements have been made in terms of maternal mortality and access to contraception. Nonetheless, inequality remains endemic and climate change, population growth and natural disasters continue to impair progress. Corruption, the weak rule of law and limited transparency contribute to an insecure environment.
Bangladesh's relations with the Netherlands
The Netherlands is the eighth-largest donor to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh was the second-largest recipient of Dutch ODA funds in 2014/2015.
The Netherlands’ strategic plan for Bangladesh is focused on three themes: water management, food security and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Corporate social responsibility became an additional priority of the embassy’s work on trade and economic development. In response to the tragic events at Tazreen (2013) and Rana Plaza (2014), which were linked to poor working conditions in garment factories, the ready-made garment sector became a significant and visible priority for the embassy. Cross-cutting issues addressed with Dutch aid were private sector development, gender, environment, climate change and governance.
Initiatives managed from The Hague for the period 2014-2017 amounting to € 110 million included support for tertiary education, instruments and programs to develop the private sector, and assistance for civil-society partnerships focusing on sexual and reproductive health and advocacy (the Dialogue and Dissent program), as well as the Water Mondiaal program and the Global Alliance for Food Security.
Key themes
During this period the Netherlands’ development cooperation program for Bangladesh helped to improve living conditions for the poor in three domains in particular: water, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and food security. A new priority was labor conditions in the ready-made garment industry. Planned contributions and activities were aligned with Bangladesh’s national policy and development plans. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh continued existing partnerships and its work complemented technical assistance provided through investment funds of international financial institutes (IFIs). The embassy also continued to promote and broker Dutch contracts with IFIs, especially in the water sector, and actively publicized the lessons learned and successes achieved by all the stakeholders. The cooperation between the Netherlands and Bangladesh was reinforced by research institutes in both countries.
There was an ongoing emphasis on boosting bilateral trade and the investment relationship by providing services for the business community, for example publishing information about business opportunities in targeted sectors and serving as a matchmaker to bring companies together. Policies designed to sustain Bangladesh’s economic growth emphasized social responsibility and combating environmental pollution.
Women’s rights and gender equality had long been a priority in Dutch development cooperation. The Netherlands is respected for the work that the government and donor partners perform in relation to women’s empowerment. In the ensuing years the embassy continued this policy and integrated gender issues in all of its programs, as well as supporting organizations dedicated to improving women’s empowerment and gender equality and, in particular, combating violence against women and child marriage
Working with the private sector
The Netherlands' policy was to link development cooperation activities in Bangladesh to efforts and investments being undertaken by the Dutch private sector. By creating partnerships between the client, the contractor and the community, the embassy helped to build on advances being made in areas where the private sector was providing investment: water, environmental protection, labor standards and food security. Commercial objectives were linked to promoting sustainability. The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in a transition country like Bangladesh was emphasized, with special attention to improving labor conditions in the ready-made garment sector.
Rohingya
Since 2016 the situation and political context in Bangladesh has been shaped by the plight of Rohingya fleeing their home country and seeking refuge in Bangladesh (now numbering a million). It would be fair to say that there is no realistic prospect of the Rohingya being able to return safely and permanently to Myanmar on a voluntary basis. The refugees will be confined to Bangladesh for a long time, where those received in Bangladesh are living mainly in and around Cox’s Bazaar.
The Netherlands has contributed financially and politically to efforts to relieve the plight of the Rohingya.
- The Netherlands has supported initiatives aimed at bringing accountability, specifically the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the investigation by the International Criminal Court.
- On a humanitarian level, the Netherlands is involved in interventions to protect against sexual exploitation and abuse.
- The Netherlands is involved in efforts to improve mental welfare and psychosocial support.
[Later, in September 2020, the Netherlands and Canada announced that they would formally support the case brought by Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Netherlands said it would pay special attention to crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence.]
The ready-made garment sector
Initiatives by donors to improve conditions in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry exploded in the wake of the disasters in the Tazreen (2012) and Rana Plaza (2013) factories.
The Netherlands opted to provide assistance (with Canada and the UK) through a multi-stakeholder partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The Better Work Bangladesh program, a three-and-a-half-year program to improve working conditions and to make the ready-made garment sector more competitive was launched in 2014.
The program focuses on factory-level activities to improve compliance with national labor laws and encourage respect for core international labor standards, while promoting the competitiveness of the global garment industry.
The cooperation with the ILO has five elements: support for building and fire-safety inspections; strengthening the role of labor inspectors; training programs for workers, trade unions and management on occupational health and safety; rehabilitation of victims; and the implementation of the Better Work Bangladesh program.
