Toespraak van minister Schultz van Haegen bij de ontvangt van president U Thein Sein van Myanmar

Toespraak | 08-09-2014

Mr President,
Your Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the Maeslantkering, one of the most innovative storm surge barriers in the world.
It is the final element of the Delta Project – a symbol of our age-old battle against water.

And we all know that battle will never end.
It’s a great pleasure to receive you here, since it’s the perfect place to talk about working together on water management.

It is water that forged our friendship.
Four hundred years ago, our nations enjoyed productive relations built on maritime trade.

Some Dutch traders even lived happily in your country for many decades.
One of them, Joris van Coulster, called it home for 36 years.
He left us a book filled with beautiful stories of his life in your country, its culture and its natural beauty.

Now we’re enjoying a renewed friendship.
And there’s every reason to deepen it.

We share the same goals:

• We want our people to live safely with water.
• And we want water to work for us and not against us.
• We want to improve the quality of our agriculture and our drinking water, and use our rivers for transport.

Just three months ago I visited your country for the second time. I’ve seen the challenges Myanmar faces. But I’ve also seen the many economic opportunities that water can offer your country.

I’m pleased to see that there has been steady progress in our cooperation in recent years.

Together we’re working on integrated water resources management.
Together we’re expanding our knowledge of water-related issues.
And together we’re strengthening the economic positions of both our countries.

For the Netherlands, water presents specific challenges.
A quarter of my country lies below sea level.
The lowest point is almost seven metres below sea level.
If we did not have dykes, dunes and dams, two-thirds of the country would be flooded on a regular basis.
I’m talking about an area with a population of more than 9 million, and where more than two-thirds  of our Gross National Product is generated.

We’ve found two ways of tackling these challenges with lasting success.

First, we’ve set out a new long-term national strategy.
A strategy to protect future generations against flooding and safeguard freshwater supplies.
The last program dated from 1960, after the Great Flood.
This year is special because we’ll be making renewing this Delta Program, for which Dr Cees Veerman – among many others – laid the foundations.

And second, we’ve given our policy a strong financial foundation, called the Delta Fund. By law, the government is required to deposit around one billion euros in the fund every year.

Mr President,

Your country is ambitious when it comes to water policy and economic development.
I trust that the water policy document adopted by your National Level Water Resource Committee will be a cornerstone for Myanmar’s future.

And I look forward to continuing our cooperation on integrated water resources management.
This may well be the most comprehensive and important part of our relationship.

Both our countries have much to learn.
All these projects will make us safer and more prosperous.
I’m confident we will make great progress in the years ahead.
And wish you a very pleasant and productive visit to the Netherlands.

Thank you.