Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs for Sint Maarten, Silveria E. Jacobs received Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra, today, Tuesday, October 25, during a bilateral meeting hosted in the government administration building.
The meeting is part of the Minister’s scheduled visit from October 24 to 26, to discuss current geopolitical developments in Europe and the Western Hemisphere with the Prime Ministers and Governors of the Countries.
“When we speak of developing Sint Maarten, we see that clear communication between our local, regional, and international partners places us in a space to have dialogue that would otherwise be unavailable to us. With the current state of affairs around the world, it is important to strengthen our strategic partnerships, especially with our Kingdom partners to address global crises which directly impact us as Small Island Developing States,” said Prime Minister Jacobs.
The Prime Minister and Minister Hoekstra discussed various matters related to Foreign Affairs, such as the ongoing cooperation with the French side of the island. It was noted that progress is being made on various fronts such as education, health, law enforcement and justice cooperation. Minister Hoekstra indicated that he would be pleased to host a Quadripartite Meeting between Sint Maarten, Saint Martin, France, and The Netherlands to finalize new agreements between the parties regarding improved cooperation on these topics. It is proposed for the beginning of 2023 if the parties capitalize on these matters over the months to come.
Prime Minister Jacobs and Minister Hoekstra are pleased with the progress related to the border negotiations and agree that it is of great importance for the island that the discussion on the exact location of the border is settled. Minister Hoekstra arrived in the afternoon of 24 October and has also met His Excellency Governor of Sint Maarten Ajamu Baly and Préfet of Saint Martin Vincent Berton.
The Prime Minister and Minister Hoekstra will travel on to Curaçao today, for a meeting with the Prime Ministers of Curaçao and Aruba, connected to the Kingdom Consultation on Foreign Relations or Koninkrijks Overleg Buitenlandse Betrekkingen (KOBB). During the KOBB several topics of regional importance will be discussed, such as (geo)political developments in the region, issues related to safety and security, the position of Small Island Developing States, access to funding, membership of regional organizations and consular matters.
