Dutch Ambassador to Pakistan Gajus Scheltema on Thursday said Netherlands was cutting short its development operations in Pakistan due to the continuous hostility, uncertainty and financial constraints.
He told reporters Netherlands was taking difficult economic decisions mainly because of the Greek crisis and recession in Europe that forced to cut the development aid and to adopt targeted funding. “This is because it has become impossible for Dutch government to continue operations in Pakistan,” he added.
The Dutch ambassador said although it was easier to do business in Pakistan than India but corruption, religious hostility, political uncertainty and bureaucratic red tape, as well as law and order were the main reasons that led to the continuous decrease in trade and investment between the two countries. He was of the view that Pakistan had a great potential to become a progressive state but did not realise its potential. He said in 2010 Netherlands had helped Pakistan with 25 million euros in the shape of humanitarian aid during the floods. He said there was a huge potential in agriculture and dairy sector in Pakistan and Netherlands would like to invest in it.
When the Dutch ambassador was asked to comment on the current political scenario of Pakistan he said that it was the internal matter of Pakistan. He was of the view that Netherlands want political stability in Pakistan. Earlier, addressing an alumni gathering of participants from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the Dutch envoy appreciated the role of the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in higher education for the second time in Pakistan on reducing earthquake vulnerability through generating seismic micro zonation maps using geo information (GIS/Remote sensing).
