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CARICOM Wants Closer Ties With Dutch Caribbean, by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London
Friday, May 02, 2008
Speaking at a recent press conference in St Maarten, the Secretary-General
of CARICOM, Edwin Carrington stated that he looked forward to more effective
co-operation between the community and Dutch territories in the Caribbean, as
CARICOM moves to expand the regional community.
The Secretary-General and the President of the Caribbean Association of Industry
and Commerce (CAIC), Nigel John led a joint mission to the island of St
Maarten, which is separated into the Dutch side Sint Maarten and the French side
Saint Martin.
Members of the joint mission, which included CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General,
Human and Social Development Dr Edward Greene, Chef de Cabinet in the Office
of the Secretary-General, Glenda Itiaba and other CARICOM Secretariat staff
members, held discussions with the Executive Council of Sint Maarten, led by
the Governor Franklyn Richards and Leader of Government, Commissioner Sarah
Westcott-Williams and other Commissioners.
The mission also met with the Chamber
of Commerce of Sint Maarten and other members of the private sector. The private
sector in Sint Maarten is active in the CAIC. The mission also toured the impressive
harbour facility in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, where they met with representatives
of the shipping sector.
The Netherlands Antilles is engaged in discussions with the Kingdom of the Netherlands
with respect to establishing a new constitutional arrangement for the country's Caribbean
territories, which include Sint Maarten.
The Secretary-General stated that the completion
of this process was a pre-requisite for CARICOM to look at ways of facilitating
closer ties between those territories and the Community, a process which, he
noted, could be enhanced through improved communication and information links.
The visit to Sint Maarten is the second in seven months by the Secretary-General
to a Dutch Caribbean territory, having visited Curacao last September.
Following
that visit, the Netherlands Antilles was accepted last October as an Observer
at the meetings of CARICOM’s Council for Human and Social Development.
Enhancement of investment and trade relations was discussed during a breakfast
meeting with Sint Maarten Chamber of Commerce and was further highlighted during
the tour of the Philipsburg Harbour Facility.
The Philipsburg port is an important
transhipment point for a number of neighbouring islands, including some CARICOM
Member States and Associate Members. It is also the site of a major cruise ship
facility which sees 1.4 million passengers visiting annually.
Among the main items of discussion during the two-day visit was the possibility
of increasing trade in agricultural products, in particular to enhance Sint Maarten’s
capacity to provide for its population as well as its significant tourist arrivals.
This was viewed by both sides as one avenue of increasing trading and investment
relations, and Mr John emphasised the need for more efficient and voluminous trade
with Sint Maarten.
“We need to explore avenues for expansion into the wider Caribbean,”
he stated, adding that “Integration would make no sense if it does not encompass other
islands of the Caribbean even if not at the same level.”
Sint Maarten indicated a willingness to attend the CARICOM Regional Agriculture
Investment Forum which takes place in Guyana on 6th-7th June, 2008.
The presence
of a delegation from the island and indeed the wider Dutch Caribbean, the Secretary-General
said, could lead to strengthening the relationship between the Community and
these territories and a continuation of the dialogue.
The joint CARICOM/CAIC team also met with officials of the Collectivitée
of Saint Martin during which the team was briefed on the new constitutional status
of Saint Martin.
As previously stated, the islands making up the Netherland Antilles are currently undergoing fundamental
constitutional change.
Following a series of referenda between 2000 and 2005,
a Round Table Conference held between the governments of the Netherlands, Aruba
and the islands of the Netherland Antilles agreed that Curacao and St Maarten
would become autonomous territories, while the 'BES' islands of Bonaire, St
Eustatius and Saba would have a new status, but remain linked to the Netherlands.
The agreement will dissolve the Netherland Antilles by 15th December, 2008.
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