H. E. Dr. Philip de Heer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Japan, accompanied by the Consul General of the Kingdom of Netherlands at Osaka/Kobe, Mr. Dirk Jan Kop visited Kobe University on January 14. The purpose of the visit was to deliver a lecture to Kobe University Faculty of Economics students. H.E. Dr. Philip de Heer held several important positions such as the Principal Secretary of HRH Queen Beatrix, the Ambassador to China, and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before assuming his position as the Ambassador to Japan last August.

In the first part of his lecture, the Ambassador introduced how the country and the people of the Netherlands coexisted harmoniously with water. He then spoke of the history of the EU and the relationship between the EU and the Netherlands. At the end of his lecture, he talked about the 400 years of fruitful relationship the two countries have enjoyed throughout the history. Touching on his own experience, he also added that he hopes to see Japan play an important role in the international society.

After the lecture at Kobe University, he left for the Hyogo International Association (HIA) where he gave another lecture at a meeting co-hosted by HIA and the EU Institute in Japan, Kansai. Following exchanges with the people of Hyogo Prefecture who attended the meeting, he returned to Tokyo.