Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen arrived on Saba from Bonaire Tuesday late afternoon for a short working visit.

The official part of the State Secretary starts on Wednesday morning with a meeting with the new Executive Council, followed by a meeting with the new Island Council. Van Huffelen will furthermore meet with Qredits, a micro-financing organization for small and middle-sized entrepreneurs, and some of Qredits’ clients on Saba. The State Secretary will visit a family living in a social housing unit, meet with notary Marica Bouterse and speak with Saba residents.

Part of the State Secretary’s visit this time will also focus on the other part of her portfolio besides Kingdom Relations, namely Digitalization. The program is a roundtable meeting with stakeholders to discuss digitalization, what this means, the difference that it can make and the opportunities that it presents, also in relation to doing business. On Wednesday evening, the State Secretary and her delegation leave for St. Eustatius on the Makana ferry.

Saba is the State Secretary’s second stop on a five-day working visit to Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten this week. Van Huffelen has been on Saba several times before, the last time being in February 2023 when she accompanied King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Princess Amalia during their visit to Saba and the other five Dutch Caribbean islands.

Last week, Dutch State Secretary of Justice and Security Eric van der Burg visited Saba and the week before that, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf.

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