Minister Plasterk (Interior Affairs and Kingdom relations) visits the Caribbean part of the Kingdom from Saturday 19th of January till Saturday 26th of January 2013. At his first trip to the Caribbean the minister visits the countries Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. He also visits Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire, the islands that are part of The Netherlands.
Plasterk starts his visit on Aruba. He will have meetings with Governor Refunjol, Prime Minister Eman, the council of ministers and the leaders of the political parties of the parliament of Aruba. He will also visit the Coast Guard and he is present in the harbour of Oranjestad when Wubbo Ockels arrives with his ‘Zero-emission’ yacht.
On Monday, January 21 and Tuesday morning January 22, the Minister is on Curaçao. He speaks with Acting Governor Van der Pluijm-Vrede and meets with Prime Minister Hodge and the new government of Curaçao. He also speaks with politicians and other representatives from civil society.
The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday 23 January Plasterk is on St. Maarten. There he will meet the Governor, Mr. Holiday, Prime Minister Wescott-Williams and the members of the Cabinet. The visit to St. Maarten ends with a visit to the Coast Guard.
In the afternoon on Saba, the minister is introduced to Island Governor Johnson, the Executive Council and the Island Council. On Thursday, January 24, Plasterk will discover a unique piece of nature, the rainforest of Saba. Between 08.00 and 11.00 AM he climbs Mount Scenery, the highest point in the Netherlands.
Thursday afternoon, the Minister is on St. Eustatius for talks with Island Governor Berkel, the Executive Council and the Island Council. Friday, January 25, the Minister gets acquainted with the island and its history. In the afternoon Plasterk travels to Bonaire, where he has a meeting with Island Governor Mrs. Emerencia, the Executive Council and the members of the Island Council.
Saturday, January 26 Minister Plasterk concludes his trip to Bonaire with a visit to different projects on the island and where the social and economic problems of Bonaire will be explained to him. He begins his tour at 09:00 AM from Playa to Rincon and he will visit the elderly day care centre Cocari, the FKPD (foundation for the care of physically of mentally disabled people) and Magasina di Rei. At the end of the day Plasterk will fly back to The Netherlands.