On October 7^th, 2008, Mr. Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources, met with Mr. Peter S. Lee, Chairman of International Committee of Irrigation and Drainage, in Beijing. During the meeting, they both reviewed the past 20-year friendly cooperation between MWR, CNCID and ICID, exchanged views on policies, management, successful experiences and advanced technologies in the aspects of irrigation and drainage and water-saving in China, and also discussed related technologies for the second Green Revolution.

Minister Chen highly evaluated the contributions of ICID in advancing the development of irrigation and drainage in the world and enhancing the communication of policies and technologies in related fields among countries. Besides, they both proposed future concrete suggestions in the fields of jointly holding international conferences, enhancing regional communication, project cooperation, technological research, capacity building, cooperation of the Fifth World Water Forum, etc.

Chairman Lee expressed sincere gratitude for MWR’s support during the past years, greatly valued the enormous achievements made by the Chinese Government in irrigation and drainage, and also appreciated the contributions of CNCID. Moreover, he hoped to continuously cooperate with the Chinese water sector, to display the pilot role of China in the management of large-scale irrigation districts and the extension of water-saving technologies. He also encouraged the Chinese scientific and research institutions to act as the promoter of irrigation and drainage technologies in the Asia.

Officials from Department of International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Department of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Water Supply, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, and Secretariat of CNCID attended the meeting.