On 26 and 27 March, a Basque delegation paid a visit to Flanders. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with several Flemish internationally renowned institutions active in marine and maritime research and research support.
In the course of the visit, the delegation, led by the Basque vice-minister Elena Monteno, visited several institutions, such as the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and its Marine Station Ostend (MSO) ,the IODE Project office for IOC/UNESCO, the Secretariat of the European Marine Board and the European Marine Observation and Data Network EMODnet, hosted by Flanders at the InnovOcean campus. In addition, it also visited the Coastal and Ocean Basin (COB), a wave tank for coastal hydraulic research.
In Borgerhout, the Flanders Hydraulics Research (FHR) presented its operation. The necessary attention was also paid to the Flemish SIGMA plan, a project of the Flemish government that aims to reduce the risk of flooding around the Scheldt. The delegation concluded with a site visit to the Antwerp quay walls on the Scheldt, which are being completely rebuilt.
This two-day working visit is part of the Memorandum of Understanding Flanders - Basque Country, which was signed in 2015.
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)