Ramos to address international water meet

Japan’s former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who chairs the national steering committee for the World Water Forum (WWF3) hosted by Japan has invited Former President Fidel Ramos to be a keynote speaker at this gathering of some 8,500 experts, officials and delegates from 150 countries and international agencies.

Ramos left yesterday to participate in WWF3 to be held in Kyoto, in Shiga (the Yodo River Basin-Lake Bina area) and in Osaka, Japan, from March 16 to 23.

WWF3, which is sponsored by the United Nations, will be attended by representatives from government, water sector organizations, multilateral institutions, environmental (green) NGOs, construction engineers, agriculturists and conservation experts around the world.

His imperial highness, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan has agreed to assume the position of honorary president of the WWF3.

The world water forum was established in 1997 to respond to an urgent need to unify the then fragmented, disparate and relatively ineffectual efforts on global water management.