On Thursday, October 12, Governor Koike met with Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The governor, mentioning that the Port of Tokyo and the Port of Rotterdam have deepened exchange as sister ports since 1989, stated that she “hopes to deepen ties with Rotterdam by taking the opportunity of the scheduled event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sister port relationship in 2019.” The governor also expressed her wish to cooperate with Rotterdam in the activities of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) and in response to natural disasters such as flood control.

Mayor Aboutaleb expressed his appreciation over the fact that many Japanese firms are conducting their business in the Port of Rotterdam and substantially benefiting the local community such as creating employment. He also said, “Tokyo and Rotterdam face similar problems, one of which is flood control. Water issues are closely related to climate change and pollution; to this end, Rotterdam wants to further cooperate with Tokyo within the C40 framework.”