Netherlands

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the country’s main development agency. It coordinates and implements Netherlands’ development policy and channels it through its embassies.

Under the General Cooperation on Operational Arrangements related to Cofinancing signed by ADB and the Netherlands’ Ministry for Development Cooperation in 2002 and amended in 2010, Netherlands provides grants to investment projects and technical assistance focusing on reproductive and sexual health and rights, water, food security, and security and the rule of law. It also supports gender equality, environment, and climate change. It prioritizes Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The country contributes to the Netherlands Trust Fund. This fund supports the implementation of ADB’s Water Financing Program, which initiates projects that enable more people in Asia and the Pacific to access safe drinking water, improved sanitation, and improved irrigation and drainage services, among others.

The Netherlands Global Climate Strategy focuses on climate and humanitarian aid, a just and inclusive transition, gender, young people and indigenous communities, nature-based solutions, European Union cooperation, energy, a circular economy, sustainable mobility and transport, and the impact of agriculture, land use, and forestry on biodiversity, water, and land use and food systems.

Highlights of ADB–Netherlands Engagement in 2023:

Sovereign Cofinancing. In 2023, Netherlands committed a grant of $17.8 million to support Bangladesh in addressing key issues facing the agriculture and fisheries sectors. The project will provide beneficiary-managed infrastructure, facilities, and equipment covering a benefit area of more than 220,000 hectares.

Nonsovereign Cofinancing. The Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) supported over 380 transactions valued at $502 million with banks domiciled in Netherlands from inception to December 2023. During the same period, the TSCFP supported over 560 Dutch exports and/or imports valued at $776.8 million. In 2023 alone, the TSCFP supported 2 transactions valued at $1.1 million with banks domiciled in Netherlands and supported 54 Dutch exports and/or imports valued at $106.4 million. Exports and/or imports were mainly to or from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Viet Nam. Underlying goods involved mostly food and agriculture-related goods, raw and non-energy commodities, as well as industrial machinery and capital goods.

Trust Funds. In May 2023, Netherlands committed $20 million in contributions to the Water Resilience Trust Fund. The fund was established in January 2023 to support critical and transformational actions by government agencies, communities, and the private sector to strengthen water resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

Special Funds. Netherlands is a founding member of ADB and has, since 1966, committed $822.6 million to ADB special funds. Of this commitment, $787.7 million has gone to the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The ADF provides grants to ADB’s low-income, developing member countries to help reduce poverty and improve quality of life.

Knowledge. In June 2023, ADB joined the Netherlands Trust Fund, Pakistan’s Punjab Irrigation Department, and Lahore University of Management Sciences to discuss improving canal irrigation management through remote sensing.

In November 2023, ADB hosted the financing donors for the annual consultation meetings of the Clean Energy, Urban, and Water Financing Partnership Facilities (FPFs) in India. ADB thanked the donors, including Netherlands, while highlighting the FPFs’ role in developing innovative solutions. Donors expressed their support for the FPFs, underscoring the importance of scaling up knowledge and innovation, ensuring greater visibility for donor contributions, and diversifying the funding base for the FPFs.