MP Omar Ottley.
PHILIPSBURG--United People’s party (UP) Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley says his biggest takeaway from the recent Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO was a willingness among Dutch parliamentarians to work together, although he believes there remains some reluctance to fully commit.
Reflecting on the consultations held in The Hague, Ottley told “The Daily Herald” that, “The biggest take is that I see willingness to work from Dutch MPs but some hesitancy to fully commit.”
Ottley said the St. Maarten delegation approached the consultations as a united team rather than focusing on individual contributions.
“It was more a collective effort where we share ideas as one voice for St. Maarten. For instance, it was St. Maarten that pushed the point of reparations and slavery,” he said.
He also stressed the need for greater cooperation among the Caribbean countries within the Kingdom. “Also, I told the islands that it’s time for us to pool our resources together and become more effective as a unit. We will face the same issues so why not see how we can strengthen each other.”
According to Ottley, the most significant outcome of this year’s consultations was the emphasis placed on collaboration. “The agreement of collaboration. This was literally the theme. I have never heard this agenda pushed this much before. But now it’s to see if it becomes reality,” he said.
While describing collaboration as a major achievement, Ottley said he would have liked to see more specific commitments included in the final agreements. “I think some more details could have been taken up in final agreement. I felt like the Netherlands still played it safe and general terms. But the next IPKO is in St. Maarten so we will definitely go in-depth.”
Ottley said the most important follow-up action after the consultations should be securing financial support for the islands through grants and investments rather than loans. “The financial assistance in form of grants or investment in infrastructure as opposed to loans and conditions,” he said.
The next IPKO is scheduled to take place on St. Maarten in January 2027, where Ottley expects discussions to move into greater detail on issues raised during the recent consultations in The Hague.
