THE HAGUE–Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops will pay his first official visit to Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire (the Leeward Islands, also referred to as the ABC Islands) January 8-10.
Knops already visited the three Windward Islands (St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius) late November/early December last year in connection with the islands’ reconstruction phase following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Part of this one-week visit coincided with the visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to the islands.
Knops did not visit the other three Dutch Caribbean islands at that time because the focus was on the aftermath of the hurricanes. The upcoming visit to Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire will serve as a formal introduction to the three islands after Knops’ appointment late October last year.
He will have introductory meetings with government officials, and with representatives of the private sector and the social organisations in Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire. The three-day visit starts on Monday, January 8 in Bonaire and ends in Aruba on January 11. On January 10, he will be in Curaçao.
“I am delighted that right at the start of 2018, I can pay a visit to this part of the Kingdom. After my recent visit to the Windward Islands, I also find it important to quickly get to know Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao,” said Knops in a press release on Wednesday.
He said he wanted to use his visit to hear about the challenges the two countries, Curaçao and Aruba, and the public entity Bonaire are facing, what ambitions they have and how the cooperation can be fortified in the coming period. “I also want to utilise the working visits and talks to get an impression of the life on the three islands,” he said.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/72416-knops-to-visit-abc-islands
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