Monday, December 5, 2011

French and Dutch sides meet, approve draft Letter of Intent

MARIGOT--The governments of both French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten, and Pr�fet Jacques Simonnet representing the French State, approved a draft "letter of intent" that will be submitted to both Governments for signature in a week or two following Friday's joint cooperation meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce.

The respective Councils presided over the day-long meeting that was postponed from November 19 at French Minister of Overseas Territories Marie-Luce Penchard's request. She had intended to be present for the meeting but in the end was unable to attend.

The Dutch side delegation included Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger, Justice Minister Roland Duncan, and Education Minister Rhoda Arrindell for the early part of the day.

Workshops were held in different meeting rooms on five main themes: Security, Transportation, Urban and Territorial Planning, Social Affairs and Health, and Economic Development.

The technical working groups later presented their reports to the Councils. However, conclusions of each workshop were not made known to the press. Some 30 technicians took part in the workshops. The representatives of the two councils deliberated on the presented issues of cooperation in the afternoon.

Wescot-Williams said months of meetings between technocrats of the two sides had in some instances got off to a difficult start because of the competencies at different levels, local and state. She said some areas of cooperation have been more successful than others.

"Clearly an agreement that included the representative of the French State had been lacking and that void has been filled with the tripartite agreement (Sint Maarten, Saint Martin, and the French State)," she said. "It is expected to be ratified in the next week or so. We have attempted to create a structure for cooperation that can be used by Governments for years to come.

"Cooperation should be based on the understanding and appreciation that we are Siamese twins connected at the border points.

"We have heard about progress made and political commitment but now on a technical you have to carry the ball, ensure continuity, and keep one another on their toes."

The Prime Minister noted that justice is one of the biggest areas of cooperation that needs the attention of both sides because it includes security, police, immigration, coastguard, and customs.

She thanked all the technocrats and civil servants and respective agencies on both sides for their work on taking cooperation this far.

"What happens from now on is what's important. You have the legal tools in your hands to work together.

"The joint commission will come together once a year to review the work that has been done in the different areas while the technocrats will meet quarterly to work on the different areas."

President Frantz Gumbs said the proposals derived from the work of the various commissions form the basis of the "letter of intent" which will be signed once there is total agreement on its terms.

"But the basic framework of the letter has been agreed on today," he said. "Both sides have gone through constitutional changes so it was necessary for us to understand how the other side works. It's a new working relationship, new operations, and new responsibilities. We have to know the institutions and know who does what. Everyone has been working in a spirit of revitalisation."

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/23121-french-and-dutch-sides-meet-approve-draft-letter-of-intent-.html

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