Dutch gov't taking "Netherlands first" approach with development aid
The Dutch government will henceforth take a Netherlands-first approach with development aid, Minister Reinette Klever for Foreign Trade and Development Aid announced during a visit to Tunisia. She is making significant cuts into projects focused on gender equality, education, and climate, among others. And will only continue funding projects that also help the Netherlands itself, RTL Nieuws reports.
“In this way, we not only support the countries and people who need it most, but we also invest in ourselves,” the PVV Minister said during the visit to Tunisia, which made it very clear that her focus was only on the “foreign trade” part of her portfolio. Her plans include visits to olive farms and tomato growers in the country.
“We are now doing a lot of projects in a lot of countries, working with a lot of organizations. I want to focus on themes and interests that work for the Netherlands,” Klever said. “We are going to look at things from a different perspective.”
The Schoof I Cabinet’s coalition agreement includes plans to cut development aid budgets by 500 million euros next year, and then by 2.4 billion euros each subsequent year. Klever previously announced that she would cut 200 million euros per year from aid organizations in the coming five years. Next year, they’ll be responsible for raising half of their own income, instead of a quarter.
The first programs facing significant cuts focus on gender equality, women’s rights, education, sports, and cultural development. According to Klever, the Netherlands will promote the rights of girls and women through spending on healthcare and trade.
When it comes to the climate crisis, the Netherlands will henceforth only meet the obligations in the Paris Climate Agreement and no more. Klever is reducing the Netherlands’ contribution to organizations like Unicef and UNDP, the UN Development Program against global poverty, by half.
The government will focus on projects led by Dutch entrepreneurs in the fields of food security, water, or health. “We are really going to look at: what is the Netherlands good at? That is also a much more efficient use of your money, because you can do that better than the things you are not good at,” Klever said.
The Netherlands will also invest in countries that help combat migration. Since the deal between the EU and Tunisia in 2023, the number of asylum seekers from the country has decreased significantly. On Wednesday, Klever promised the Tunisians another 4.8 million euros for coastal surveillance. Tunisia can also continue to count on development aid from the Netherlands in the future, she said.
According to Klever, the new development aid policy is a “win-win situation” for everyone. “These countries still receive development aid, but it is then implemented by Dutch companies and that also means income for the Netherlands and jobs for the Netherlands. So it is a win-win for the recipient countries and for the Netherlands.”
She added that she will not abruptly stop programs the Netherlands is currently funding. This will happen in a “responsible manner” with a “good exit strategy,” said the far-right politician who, as a parliamentarian, once argued for cutting all development aid.
