PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams told leaders and representatives of governments at the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)/European Union (EU) Forum on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia that country St. Maarten was proud to be part of the new vision of EU relations.
"We are looking forward to working together with all partners to realise the new relations. This is a partnership where we all have mutual interests and we shall walk the journey together," she said in a speech at the forum's opening session in New Caledonia.
The prime minister also spoke about the constitutional change that the Dutch Kingdom had realised on October 10, 2010, and the current challenges in public finances and the maintenance of law and order.
The change, she pointed out, has allowed the islands to rise to the occasion to have direct responsibility for taking care of the people.
St. Maarten is home to more than 100 nationalities and is a destination of choice for close to two million visitors, Wescot-Williams said.
There was a working session on public health on Wednesday, where a presentation was given by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Another working session later in the day dealt with environmental issues.
The delegations will participate in an evaluation of the EU-OCT cooperation today, Thursday. A presentation will be given on the results of the evaluation of the past 10 years of EU-OCT cooperation. This will be followed by implementation and programming of the ninth and 10th European Development Fund territorial and regional allocations.
The Forum comes today with statements by the European Commission and Chairman and incoming Chairman of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) Ministerial Conference.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest political body of the OCTA, which meets on an annual basis to discuss and agree on policy matters concerning the Association.
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