Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultations (IPKO) to be held in The Hague, the Netherlands

The IPKO will commence on Thursday, June 1, 2023, with opening remarks by the Chairperson of the IPKO, followed by speeches by the three delegation leaders of the Parliaments of the Countries.

The opening speeches will be open to the public.

The four parliamentary delegations will be discussing a number of topics that include:

Recent developments in each country; a presentation by the quartermasters, John Leerdam, Peggy Brandon, and David Brandwagt regarding the to-be-established National Slavery Museum; Processing the colonial and slavery past: “filling in the space behind the comma”; Kingdom Conference; a presentation by Ed Nijpels on advice Climate Table Bonaire; and a presentation by the Ombudsman concerning a progress report on the report “Concerns of Caribbean students”. The program includes work visits focused on climate change.

The delegation of Sint Maarten has been preparing for the last few weeks for its participation in these meetings. The Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Interparliamentary Relations requested the necessary information from the Government in writing and subsequently met with the Government in a closed-door meeting to further discuss the topics.

The Interparliamentary consultations will conclude on Monday, June 5, 2023, with the signing of an agreement list and a joint press conference by the four delegations.

On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the Sint Maarten delegation will host and participate in a Tripartite meeting with delegations from the Parliaments of Aruba and Curaçao. The objective of this meeting is to prepare for the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultations and to discuss topics of mutual interest.

The delegation from the Parliament of Sint Maarten will also host the annual meet and greet with students and (young) professionals residing in the Netherlands on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The purpose of this gathering, which will take place at the Sint Maarten House in The Hauge, is to interact with students and (young) professionals on what is happening back home and to hear from them about topics of interest and importance as it relates to the development of Country Sint Maarten.

The Sint Maarten delegation participating in the IPKO and Tripartite meetings consists of the following members:

Mr. William V. Marlin, 1st Vice Chairman of Parliament, Chairman Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Interparliamentary Relations & Delegation Leader;

Mr. Rolando Brison;

Mrs. Grisha S. Heyliger-Marten;

Ms. Melissa D. Gumbs;

Mrs. Sarah A. Wescot-Williams;

Mr. Chanel E. Brownbill;

Mr. Christophe T. Emmanuel;

Mr. Akeem E. Arrindell;

Ms. Solange L. Duncan;

Ms. Ludmilla N.L. de Weever; and

Mr. Garrick J. Richardson, LL.M., ML, Secretary General.

The plenary sessions of the IPKO can be followed live via the Parliament's official Facebook page, @sxmparliament.

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