[02 Sep, 2026 Hawassa]: A high-level delegation from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including Pascalle Grotenhuis, Director-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Ambassador Christine Pirenne, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Addis Ababa, visited the newly renovated Rift Valley Lakes Basin Administration Office (RVLBAO) in Hawassa City, Sidama Region of Ethiopia. The BAO was renovated by the Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC) through the BRIGHT Project, which is co-funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union.
The delegation was also accompanied by Hannah Haaij, Head of Section for Food and Nutrition Security, Water and Climate, and Julian Beuken, Senior Policy Officer, Horn of Africa.
The visit provided an important opportunity to showcase the tangible results of the Netherlands’ support to Ethiopia’s water resource management efforts through the BRIGHT Project. Dr. Gete Zeleke, Director General of WLRC, presented an overview of BRIGHT’s achievements in the Rift Valley Lakes Basin, as well as its work across the other four basins where the project is being implemented.
The delegation also toured the newly renovated Office of the Head of the Rift Valley Lakes Basin Administration, the Water Quality Laboratory, the database centre —facilities that are being completed as part of infrastructural capacity development under WP3 of the Project. Discussions that followed focused on the future use, sustainability, and maintenance of equipment and infrastructure.
The team also viewed the boat and mobile laboratory, which will serve the Rift Valley Lakes Basin Administration Office in its field activities, including water quality monitoring and other basin-level operations. The facilities and equipment are intended to strengthen the Administration’s capacity to carry out its mandate and support more effective and sustainable management of the basin’s water resources.