FRIENDSHIP BELGIUM
Friendship Belgium ASBL/VZW was founded in 2018 to support development and humanitarian aid programmes of Friendship in Bangladesh.
This support involves the mobilization in Belgium of financial and non-financial resources, at the private, corporate or institutional level, in favour of Friendship Bangladesh.
After Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, Friendship Belgium is the fifth European entity to join Friendship International.
Together we work to create lasting solutions to the challenges faced by Bangladesh, especially those related to extreme poverty and climate change.
Our contribution
Friendship Belgium aims at mobilizing financial, human, and other resources to support and promote Friendship's work for the poorest and most vulnerable people in Bangladesh.
In particular, Friendship Belgium is piloting an initiative called Blue Mangrove Fund based on Friendship's mangrove afforestation program.
According to scientific researches and IPCC, mangroves are prime ecosystems to restore and protect. Mangroves are an efficient adaptation solution to climate change for local communities in the coastal belt of Bangladesh.
But mangroves also play a mitigation role since they capture 4 to 5 times more CO2 than other types of forests.
DISCOVER MORELe conseil d'administration
HRH PRINCESS ESMERALDA OF BELGIUM, Chair
Actively engaged in the protection of the environment as well as women's rights, Princess Esmeralda of Belgium is the President of the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation.
PIERRE SCHMITZ, Secretary
Pierre Schmitz is active in the textile and import/export sector between Bangladesh and Europe.
MARC ELVINGER, Member of the Board
Marc Elvinger (1960) is a lawyer and a member of the Luxembourg Bar since 1985.
RUNA KHAN, Member of the Board (Founder and Executive Director of Friendship)
Runa Khan is the Founder and Executive Director of Friendship.
PAOLO PELLIZZARI, Member of the Board
Paolo Pellizzari is a photographer for 20 years and professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
Johannes van der Klaauw, Member of the Board
Johannes van der Klaauw is a retired UNHCR and UN official since October 2023.
Nicolas Delhauteur, Treasurer
Nicolas Delhauteur has worked in Belgium's banking and insurance sector since 1995.