On Monday July 16, the Minister and Cabinet members welcomed the Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary, Michael Somersall at Schiphol Airport as he arrived to take up his duties in the Netherlands. Together this team of dedicated persons will work towards repositioning, reviving and rebranding Sint Maarten in the Netherlands.
Courtesy visits were also made to the Ministers Plenipotentiary of both Curacao and Aruba, where the Honorable Drs. Jorien Wuite received updates on developments, shared experiences and the working environment in The Hague. The key words expressed during said visits being cooperation and collaboration, shows the willingness between the Kingdom partners to indeed make a difference.
During her second week in office Minister Wuite met with the Vice President of the Council of State Piet Hein Donner. During this meeting the pending matter of the dispute regulation within the Kingdom and priority relations for Sint Maarten was discussed amongst other things.
The central message, being one of cooperation and sound working relations between the Kingdom partners of the Netherlands in order to strengthen ties and support Sint Maarten’s recovery resonated in the Ministers message. The above, aimed at underlining the resilience and willingness of Sint Maarten to bring the country back to the standards it had and beyond.
In the course of the coming month other courtesy calls will take place, where the Minister will be receiving Ambassadors from befriended countries and visits will be made to institutions and members of the Dutch Parliament.
Overall, Minister Wuite expressed to use this month of recess to acquaint herself, build an atmosphere of trust and prepare an action plan that she can present and discuss with Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin and other Ministers such as Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT).