NWP and partners present 10 recommendations for a strong Dutch global water strategy

The letter, sent to the House of Representatives on 10 March 2026, is addressed to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (BZ), Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW), Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK), and Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN). It emphasises – with equal weight – the importance of development cooperation and international trade, underlining that sustainable water management strengthens international stability while also reinforcing the Netherlands’ economic and knowledge position worldwide.

The call is supported by partners from across the Dutch water ecosystem, including public authorities, knowledge institutions, civil society organisations and private companies working internationally on water resilience, water technology, climate adaptation, food security and delta management. Co-signatories are:

• Dutch Greenhouse Delta (DGD)
• Koninklijke NL Ingenieurs
• Netherlands African Business Council (NABC)
• Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP)
• Sail Institutes
• Salta, Institute for Agriculture in Salinizing Deltas
• VNO-NCW
• Water Alliance

Water: a strategic interest for The Netherlands

In the letter, NWP and its partners stress that global water challenges – climate change, water scarcity, water sanitation, pollution and their impact on food systems, health, energy supply and trade chains – are becoming more urgent. Poor water management causes instability, conflict and forced migration, including at Europe’s borders.

Structural investment in international water management is therefore presented not only as a development priority, but also as a matter of geopolitical resilience, trade continuity and national security.

Water is a precondition for food production, economic growth and stable supply chains

The coalition highlights that water is a precondition for food production, economic growth and stable supply chains. Without water, there is no agriculture, no healthy soil, no resilient ecosystems and no trade.

At the same time, global demand for Dutch water expertise continues to grow. The Netherlands’ internationally recognised knowledge base and its unique public-private ‘Diamond Approach’ – uniting government, businesses, knowledge institutions and civil society – position the country as a trusted and innovative partner.

Ten recommendations for the new Cabinet

The letter structures its message around five thematic pillars and 10 concrete recommendations. The full letter (in Dutch) can be read here. In summary, the 10 recommendations are the following.

I. Water as a strategic foreign policy priority

1. Anchor water structurally in foreign policy
Make sustainable water management an explicit and long-term priority in Dutch foreign policy, and link it to security, trade, food, energy, health, gender equality and climate adaptation.

2. Renew and strengthen the Netherlands International Water Ambition (NIWA)
Update the interdepartmental framework beyond 2030, ensuring coherence between ministries and clear international positioning of Dutch water expertise.

3. Focus on priority countries with strong networks
Invest in embassies with water expertise and build long-term local partnerships. Diplomatic engagement, bilateral collaboration, and trade missions are essential for a level playing field and sustainable economic cooperation.

4. Safeguard and restore budgets for international water programmes
Maintain the water management budget of the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a minimum of EUR 170 million annually and restore the Infrastructure and Water Management budget for international cooperation (Homogene Groep Internationale Samenwerking - HGIS) of EUR 22 million per year to ensure continuity and credibility.

II. Public-private cooperation: the Dutch ‘Diamond Approach’

5. Strengthen public-private partnerships across the sector
Continue active government collaboration with the full water ecosystem – public authorities, companies, NGOs and knowledge institutions – and stimulate integrated, jointly financed programmes in partner countries.

6. Safeguard the role of civil society organisations
Ensure NGOs remain structurally embedded in the Dutch Diamond Approach, recognising their essential role in local capacity building, contextual knowledge and sustainable impact.

III. Accessible and effective financing

7. Improve access to national and international finance
Align Dutch finance instruments and institutes (such as Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Invest International, Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, and DFCD, the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development) more closely with sector needs and long-term water programmes. Improve access to EU funding, climate funds and multilateral development banks, using the Dutch instruments as leverage for international co-financing.

IV. Innovation, knowledge sharing and capacity building

8. Continue investing in innovation and international scaling
Safeguard programmes that strengthen innovation and valorisation in the water sector, and ensure that water remains strategically embedded in industrial policy, even after the ending of the Topsector Water & Maritime approach.

9. Facilitate reciprocal knowledge exchange and capacity building
Support long-term partnerships with low- and middle-income countries. Knowledge exchange benefits both sides, strengthens diplomatic ties and enhances food security, climate resilience and economic relations.

V. International profiling and agenda setting

10. Use multilateral water conferences strategically
Coordinate early and jointly towards key global events – such as the UN Water Conference 2026 in the United Arab Emirates – to position Dutch expertise and partnerships at times when major funding commitments are made.

Trade and aid: two sides of the same coin

A central message throughout the letter is that development cooperation and international trade are mutually reinforcing. Investments in water security help create stability, climate adaptation and poverty reduction, while simultaneously strengthening the Netherlands’ export position, knowledge leadership and long-term trade relations.

By combining development cooperation, diplomacy, innovation and business engagement, the Netherlands can deliver scalable and sustainable solutions that benefit partner countries and Dutch prosperity alike.

Ongoing dialogue with Government

As the newly appointed Cabinet takes office and finalises its plans, this letter represents a concerted effort by Dutch societal stakeholders to reinforce the importance of close cooperation between the Government and the water sector. The coalition has invited the new Cabinet to enter into dialogue on how the Government and the water sector can jointly continue to address these urgent global challenges.

The letter builds on earlier correspondence and constructive discussions with the previous Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (BHO). At these conversations, NWP emphasised, and will continue to emphasise, the importance of the Dutch water sector’s united voice. 

As such, the letter is part of an ongoing conversation and collaboration between the Dutch water sector and the Dutch Government. Through this partnership, NWP continues to support the Government in highlighting and positioning Dutch water expertise internationally.

NWP looks forward to a constructive and fruitful dialogue with the new Cabinet, and to working with it to achieve both national and international water objectives. "We will keep members and partners informed about developments, and involved in the next steps,” says Rick Elmendorp, Director-Chair of NWP.

Read the letter and review the signatories here (in Dutch).