World Tsunami Awareness Day 2017: Mauritian students to attend summit in Japan

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, had a meeting today in Port Louis with six students who will attend a High School Students Islands Summit in Okinawa, Japan in the context of the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2017. The Ambassador of Japan to Mauritius, Mr Yoshiharu Kato, and other eminent personalities were also present at the meeting.

Minister Lutchmeenaraidoo underscored that the participation of Mauritian students in this Summit will be beneficial for them as they will get the opportunity to learn from the expertise acquired by Japan and they will get a platform to share knowledge and practices.

With the unpredictable nature of disasters, the Minister underlined, it remains essential for Mauritius and other islands of the Indian Ocean Commission to be well prepared at the level of disaster prevention and management. On this score, he called for the cooperation of Japan in terms of training and equipment to support Mauritius in its endeavours towards disaster prevention.

The Minister highlighted that it is crucial for Mauritius to protect its maritime zone and make sustainable use of its maritime resources. The protection of our seas entails the strict control of drug trafficking, piracy, money laundering and illegal fishing, he added.

For his part, the Ambassador of Japan to Mauritius underpinned that the participation of Mauritius in the Summit will contribute to strengthen relations between Japan and Mauritius. He also encouraged the participants to make the most of this experience.

About the summit

The six students have been selected among the best Model United Nations delegates by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research to participate in this Summit with the aim to raise awareness of the threat of tsunami and the importance of being prepared for this calamity. It will be held from 7 to 8 November 2017.

The theme for this year’s summit is We want to protect people’s lives – Let’s do what we can now upon learning and preparing for the threat of tsunami.

Students from some twenty-five countries are attending the Summit to discuss issues relating to preparation for disasters.