Delta Commissioner receives Japanese Vice Minister
On 10 July, Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken received Shinpei Matsushita, Vice Minister of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The Japanese Vice Minister, who had visited the Maeslantkering storm surge barrier in the morning, was paying a visit to the Delta Commissioner to learn more about the Dutch approach adopted in the Delta Programme. In his presentation, the Delta Commissioner drew attention to three aspects of the Delta Programme that might be of interest to Japan in its plans for reconstruction in the aftermath of the tsunami: the joint search for knowledge and strategies through joint fact-finding initiatives and scenarios, the integrated approach, and the intensive collaboration between different levels of government in the Delta Programme.
For his part, the Vice Minister indicated that he hopes the Netherlands and Japan will be able to share their experiences with the approach they take to water and climate problems with other countries. He also called on others at the UN to establish the prevention of disasters as a new millennium development goal. The Delta Commissioner then mentioned his visit to Margareta Wahlström, special representative of the UN Secretary General, at the UN in Geneva in December of last year. “She also appeared to be keenly interested in the approach taken by the Netherlands and Japan,” said Wim Kuijken.
In addition to the possibility of a bilateral effort in communicating the importance of preventing disasters, the possibility of increased collaboration in third countries also came up for discussion. Vice Minister Matsushita underlined the importance of availing ourselves of opportunities to study this issue further.