THE HAGUE–Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be visiting St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba on May 13 and 14.
The Prime Minister will be in St. Eustatius and Saba on May 13 and in St. Maarten on May 14, the Dutch Government Information Service RVD confirmed on Tuesday evening. Accompanying him on the two-day trip will be State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops, who is currently also in the Windward Islands. More details on Rutte’s visit will be released shortly.
Rutte was originally supposed to visit St. Maarten early November last year. That visit was cancelled due to the conflict between The Hague and Philipsburg about the preconditions for the Dutch Reconstruction Fund for St. Maarten.
Late October it was decided that it made little sense for the Prime Minister to go to St. Maarten as long there was discussion about the preconditions that the Dutch Government had tied to the Reconstruction Fund. These preconditions were the establishing of the St. Maarten Integrity Chamber and the strengthening of the island’s border control.
With both these conditions having been agreed upon with the St. Maarten Government, it was decided to proceed with Rutte’s visit to the Windward Islands. The Prime Minister has been committed to the islands’ reconstruction after Hurricane Irma and wants to personally view the progress that has been made on the reconstruction.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/76168-rutte-visits-windward-islands-on-may-13-14
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