PHILIPSBURG:--- President Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on Monday morning met with Curacao's Prime Minister Hon. Ivar Asjes at the House of Parliament.
The President and the Prime Minister's (PM) discussions focused on cooperation and areas of mutual interests.
The discussions started off about the outcome of the Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) that was held in Oranjestad, Aruba from January 6 to 9, PM Asjes was very interested in learning more from a Sint Maarten perspective about how the cooperation is viewed.
Some of the issues discussed were the resolution that was signed between Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten at the IPKO to set up an independent entity for the settlement of disputes between the countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The costs of healthcare is a concern for both countries, and Dr. Richardson outlined to the PM the ongoing plans for a Healthcare Conference to be hosted by Aruba in June with the aim of cooperation towards affordable healthcare for the three countries within the Kingdom.
Identification requirements for citizens and residents; ferry travel between the three countries based on a presentation by the Aruba delegation at IPKO, were also areas that were discussed on Monday.
President Richardson at the end of the discussions promised Curacao's Prime Minister to present him with a proposal from the Sint Maarten delegation with respect to sea transportation links for the North Eastern Caribbean area.
The sea transportation initiative would also include goods and vehicles that could move freely within the entities of the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom, but also be extended to Anguilla, St. Barths, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat.
"The Prime Minister shared our interest, and he thanked us for our hospitality. He presented a gift to the House of Parliament which has enriched our library; a book dealing with the origin of spiritual rituals in Curacao.
"This type of dialogue was very well appreciated, and I thanked the honourable Prime Minister for his visit and that we looked forward to having him visit again," President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson said on Tuesday.
