The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams accompanied His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Maxima and the Prime Ministers of Curacao and Aruba on an official visit to Colombia and Venezuela on Friday.
His Majesty King Willem Alexander announced in October that he would visit the two largest neighboring countries, Venezuela and Colombia, of the Dutch Kingdom, after their visit to the Dutch Caribbean in November which was subsequently confirmed by the Government Information Service in The Hague. The Royal couple were accompanied by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frans Timmermans, Prime Minister of Aruba, Mike Eman, Prime Minister of Curacao, Ivar Asjes and the PM.
The King, Queen, Prime Ministers Wescot-Williams, Asjes and Eman were received in Colombia by the President of the Republic, Juan Manuel Santos and in Venezuela by President Nicolas Maduro. Highlights of the trip included the opening of he Holland House in Bogota and widespread discussions regarding the relationship between the Caribbean Part of the Dutch Kingdom and its two largest neighbors Colombia and Venezuela.
In February the Prime Minister also met with the Consul of Colombia the Hon. Alfonso De Jesus Velez Rivas in order to discuss the strengthening of ties with Colombia especially on matters concerning consular services for medical referrals from St. Maarten, the importing vegetables, meats and fruits to St. Maarten, human trafficking and what programs to campaign against these activities were also discussed.