We are pleased to inform you that yesterday, at the 30th of November, the Netherlands Embassy has successfully hosted its third Annual World Bank Luncheon. The session – attended by government representatives, NGOs, Embassy colleagues and World Bank personnel – included insightful remarks of the World Bank’s lead procurement specialist, Diomedes Berroa. Mr. Berroa shed alight on the Bank’s new procurement strategy. Staying up-to-date on the latest changes in the World Bank Strategies is a priority for the Netherlands and Dutch companies in particular.

As many of you will know, the Netherlands has had a Minister that is specifically devoted to Development Aid and Foreign Trade for over three years now. This position is a testament to the renewed focus of the Netherlands and our belief that the traditional walls between development cooperation and the private sector need to be torn down. Developing countries desperately need both aid and trade. To see them as separate from one another would do a disservice to the hard work of those active in both sectors. But most importantly, it would do a disservice to the countries we are trying to help. The Netherlands has always been committed to international development, and we know that Dutch companies offer innovative and high-quality solutions to the challenges we face. At the same time, we realize that some of these solutions might cost more than some alternatives. However, we Dutch always keep long-term solutions in mind. Sustainability is a key part of high-quality, innovative solutions. We are convinced that enhancing procurement opportunities for Dutch companies at the World Bank will lead to more efficient, long-term development solutions for borrowing countries.And that will ultimately lead to greater global security while fostering human rights around the world. For this reason, the Netherlands was an early and strong supporter of the World Bank’s procurement review — a necessary review of policies that had been in place for about 50 years and were adopted when the world looked different from today.
With our own representative Frank Heemskerk as a strong supporter, the World Bank’s Board of Directors has adopted this new procurement policy and is implementing the new rules. So it’s particularly timely to update the Dutch private sector on the impact of these changes on your everyday business with the World Bank.
We hope that you are now all caught up and have understood how important the procurement review is for the Dutch private sector.

Click here to read the newsletter!

P.S. The procurement presentation and video of the presentation will be shared in different blog posts.