THE NETHERLANDS (THE HAGUE) – Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten, Drs. Gracita R. Arrindell, on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, attended the Troonrede delivered by His Royal Highness King Willem-Alexander at the opening of the parliamentary year of the Second Chamber of Parliament.
“I am very pleased to hear of the close cooperation established within the Kingdom between the Netherlands, Curacao, Sint Maarten and Aruba (CAS). The stated policy objectives include more effective cooperation between governments; stronger public administration; sustainable public finances; improved rule-of-law capacity; cooperation on security and crisis management; economic, energy and logistical cooperation; and greater socioeconomic resilience.
“For Sint Maarten, it entails continuation of the Country Package reforms through 2029; continued support for public-finance reform and the rule of law; ongoing debt and liquidity arrangements; strengthening judicial, investigative and border-control capacity; and continued socioeconomic programmes through the TWO (Temporary Work Organization),” Minister Plenipotentiary Drs. Gracita R. Arrindell said on Tuesday.
Another significant message from the King’s address is that this autumn, a summit of the four countries in the Kingdom will take place to discuss progress and opportunities in all areas of cooperation—from the economy and subsistence security to climate and waste management. This summit will become an annual tradition which comes at a time of great geo-political shifts that are currently taking place globally.
The Miljoenenota 2027 was presented. Included in the budget are announcements concerning the continuation of the reform cooperation programmes with Sint Maarten and the two other Kingdom countries Aruba and Curacao that were established after the COVID-19 liquidity support arrangements.
The Netherlands and the three countries have worked since 2021 through the Country Packages that covers reforms in public finances, economic resilience, public administration, the rule of law, education, social and economic development, and institutional capacity.
An independent evaluation concluded that the structural reforms require more time. Consequently, the government intends to extend the underlying Mutual Arrangement on Cooperation in Reforms by two years, through 2029.
Minister Arrindell closed off Prinsjesdag by attending the annual Prinsjesdag Concert of the residency Orchestra at the Amare theatre in The Hague.
