The St. Maarten delegation led by Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and the French-side delegation headed by President of the Collectivit� Frantz Gumbs met for the first time since St. Maarten attained the status of Country in the Dutch Kingdom. The meeting, which has been in the planning stage for some time, focused on cooperation on several fronts.
"While both governments in 2006 signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding cooperation, both sides have undergone far-reaching constitutional changes since that time," Wescot-Williams told The Daily Herald Friday night, adding that both sides had given presentations about their new organisations and about the competencies of the various organs of government.
The St. Maarten delegation, which included Ministers Roland Duncan, Franklin Meyers, Rhoda Arrindell and Cornelius de Weever, made its presentations by means of a video that was shown at the start of the meeting.
The topic of cooperation was broken down into three parts: the proposal for a so-called mixed commission, the MOU of 2006, and a discussion about practical and current issues of cooperation.
"Since St. Maarten's new status, the French state has been keen on developing a new structure for cooperation between the two parts of the island in which they could participate. The other partners in this proposed commission would be the Dutch Kingdom, St. Maarten and Saint Martin," the PM explained.
"While locally both sides acknowledge that there are areas for St. Martin for which negotiations would have to be with the French State, this should never take place without the participation of St. Martin itself. In fact, the MOU itself speaks of the need to involve both European partners on the level of their responsibilities," she added.
She also pointed out that there were also cooperation structures already in place for some specific areas, such as the treaty referred to locally as the Franco-Dutch treaty. "These should not be duplicated," she said.
"Given the above, the authorities present at the meeting agreed that the MOU has to be revisited urgently, considering the new constitutional realities. The need for a structure that would include the participation of France and the Dutch Kingdom in varying degrees can be taken along as well," she said.
She said existing practical forms of cooperation would be strengthened and formalised and special attention would be paid to the formalisation of communication lines in the event of disasters. Specific issues such as the driver's licence issue will also be further discussed. This exercise will be coordinated by the Bureau for Foreign Relations of St. Maarten and the Cabinet of the President of the Collectivit� of St. Martin.
"It was again evident that cooperation between St. Martin and St. Maarten is continuous. New issues surface constantly. Both sides must be vigilant and the lines between the two sides must be short and as direct as possible," she concluded.
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