On Monday July 16 the Minister Plenipotentiary, Jorien Wuite, accompanied by staff member Kelly Busby, paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, where she was cordially received at the famous Torentje” at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
After exchanging words of welcome, their familiarity with the city and updates on the current state of affairs pertaining to the plans of the government in reference to the recovery process, Prime Minister Rutte informed Minister Plenipotentiary Wuite of the particular governance and his broad based team of Ministers, Portfolio Ministers and State secretaries.
The Prime Minister, who will be leading a delegation of the business community in the Netherlands on a trade mission to Curacao and Aruba early next year, informed the Minister of the joint mission and addressed the subject of collaboration on economic endeavors, where he mentioned being willing to do the same for Sint Maarten once such a mission was organized.
He went on to advise on how to go about such a mission. Another topic of interest was the obvious establishment of closer working ties between Sint Maarten and the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius. This he believes would benefit all three islands greatly on both social and economic levels.
Economic recovery, growth and diversification, a positive investment climate, and good governance, all in line with the Governing Program “Building a Sustainable Sint Maarten” presented by the Romeo-Marlin II government, will be a priority in the initiatives to foster strong and positive ties in the Kingdom.
In this regard, Wuite emphasizes possibilities on the stimulation and enhancing of creative industries on the island. To strengthen this point, the Minister presented works of art produced by local artists Ruby Bute and Tess Verhey, as a token of appreciation to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Here the Minister eluded to the cooperation in this sector with artisans of the municipality of Apeldoorn, whom together with the Cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary have embarked on a yearlong plan, where artists from both sides of the Atlantic will be actively participating in various forms of exhibitions and auctions of their artwork.
This allows the general public the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the various art forms during the showcasing period. Artists from Sint Maarten will also be invited to actively participate.