"The Dutch Government, through our work, is now allowing the Caribbean Countries more involvement and more say in what we like to see our foreign policy to be"
Caption:The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams Receiving a Token of Appreciation from Kingdom Minister for Foreign Relations Frans Timmermans
On her weekly radio Program on 98.1 Pearl FM, the Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams gave an outline on the foreign relations framework for Country St. Maarten. During the radio show, which was held in advance of the meeting the Prime Minister was to have with Kingdom Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Frans Timmermans, explanation was given by the PM on St. Maarten’s role in the international sphere.
"The Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs is oftentimes referred to as one of the few Ministers, if not the only one, for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Why? Because Foreign Relations is one of the three tasks that have remained Kingdom Tasks, the others being Nationality and Defense," explained the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also explained to listeners that, despite them being Kingdom tasks, Foreign Relations is an item that the separate countries within the Kingdom have a certain responsibility for and it is therefore that St. Maarten has a Department of Foreign Relations, which is a part of the Ministry of General Affairs.
"Interesting is the fact that mention has been made of Minister Timmermans’ visit to Venezuela before he came to St. Maarten, the purpose of which was to sign off on a Kingdom Memorandum on Cooperation with Venezuela. All countries, especially the Dutch Caribbean Countries of Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten, see this as an important step towards the development of relations with the Venezuelan Republic. The Prime Minister of Aruba and Curacao both signed off on the MOU but due to the fact that there were pressing issues here at home I requested the Dutch Kingdom Ambassador to Venezuela sign off on my behalf," commented the PM.
"St. Maarten is still in the same sphere of which Venezuela is a part, namely the Caribbean and Central and South American Region. Of course Aruba and Curacao are much more so in that sphere because Venezuela is a close neighbor of theirs but St. Maarten is as well, especially given the fact that as a country we are further developing our relations with Latin America from an economic point of view, so it is therefore important that we reach out to these different countries.
"There have been many developments and evolutions in the process with regards to St. Maarten’s International Relations. Since 101010 we have been seeking to have more involvement and decision making as far as International Relations and cooperation is concerned, which for us is extremely important. We are an integral part of what is decided on with regards to International Relations in the Kingdom because it naturally also affects us. For example the matter of international treaties: the Kingdom cannot approve treaties that directly affect St. Maarten unless we give our approval to be a part of that treaty.
"As St. Maarten seeks to develop our International Relations we want some maneuvering space, especially when looking at the wider Caribbean region. The Dutch Government, through our work, is now allowing the Caribbean Countries more involvement and more say in what we like to see our foreign policy to be. For example the functional cooperation between the various countries is extremely important for St. Maarten, more so than the other countries in Kingdom," concluded the PM.