Jetten cabinet: Economic Growth Platform For The Caribbean

DossierKoninkrijksrelaties.nl reports:

A new Caribbean Economic Growth Platform is to be established to stimulate economic development and innovation on the six islands in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. This has been included by D66, VVD and CDA in their newly presented coalition agreement “Aan de slag” (“Let’s Get to Work”). In addition, 30 million euros will be structurally allocated to address poverty in the Caribbean Netherlands and to further implement the recommendations of the Social Minimum Committee.

“The Kingdom offers many opportunities to strengthen society and the economy on both sides of the ocean. That is why we are committed to equal cooperation, tackling poverty, and making much better use of opportunities for green growth,” according to the chapter “We are One Kingdom”, in which the influence of D66 is particularly visible: far more substantive and considerably more constructive than the few lines in the PVV/VVD/NSC/BBB governing program.

“In cooperation with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the focus is on good governance, the protection of human rights, and a strong rule of law. We help the countries increase their self reliance and address corruption. In the Caribbean Netherlands, we are building a livable social minimum based on the recommendations of the Thodé Committee, including making utilities and basic necessities affordable and keeping them affordable on Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire. We ensure that the burden on entrepreneurs remains manageable and that they retain the space to conduct business,” the new coalition states.

Perhaps the most remarkable announcement is that the Charter of the Kingdom will include a provision “allowing the islands to declare independence if they so choose.”

The Kingdom’s ties with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten make the Netherlands much more than just a country on the North Sea. At the 2026 World Cup, the Kingdom will, for the first time, take the field with two participating teams. The Kingdom offers many opportunities to strengthen society and the economy on both sides of the ocean. That is why we are committed to equal cooperation, tackling poverty, and making much better use of opportunities for green growth. In cooperation with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the focus is on good governance, the protection of human rights, and a strong rule of law. We help the countries increase their self reliance and address corruption. We aim to do this by:

• Implementing new policies introduced in the European Netherlands as the default in the Caribbean Netherlands, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.
• Building a livable social minimum in the Caribbean Netherlands based on the recommendations of the Thodé Committee, including making utilities and basic necessities affordable and keeping them affordable on Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire. We ensure that the burden on entrepreneurs remains manageable and that they retain the space to conduct business.
• Improving the quality of governance and financial management by modernizing the administrative and financial framework laws for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. In addition, we will introduce the Bibob Act to protect administrative integrity. From the Netherlands, we will continue to work with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten on good governance, combating undermining and corruption, and sustainably strengthening the economy and education through long term agreements.
• Updating the Charter of the Kingdom, which forms the basis for relations between the different countries, to include the provision that the islands may declare independence if they wish.
• Fulfilling the Netherlands’ responsibility to protect the Caribbean part of the Kingdom by maintaining a credible military presence, enabling better protection of our interests.
• Making it easier for residents of the islands to vote in European Parliament elections.
• Addressing the effects of climate change, which the Caribbean part of the Kingdom is already experiencing through coral degradation and flooding. We will therefore vigorously implement the joint climate agenda and continue the Nature and Environmental Policy Plan for the Caribbean Netherlands.
• Working toward the sustainable economic future of the islands. To this end, we will establish a Caribbean Economic Growth Platform aimed at stimulating economic development and innovation on the six islands. The National Investment Institution will be able to invest in all four countries of the Kingdom under the same conditions everywhere.
• Actively promoting social awareness of the colonial and slavery past and its lasting impact, in cooperation with the six Caribbean islands.

DossierKoninkrijksrelaties.nl