WILLEMSTAD - In a press release, the government announced that on Monday, November 8, they will participate in a tripartite consultation in Aruba. For this, Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas and Minister of Finance Javier Silvania will travel to Aruba for a day. During consultations with the Prime Ministers of Aruba and St. Maarten and the respective Ministers of Finance and their advisers, topics of interest for all three countries will be discussed. The themes include the liquidity challenges, the NOW scheme and other important and relevant themes.
The government also announced that after the consultations, the three prime ministers will convene a press conference during which an explanation will be given about what was discussed. The press of Curaçao will be given the opportunity to follow this press conference and to also be able to ask questions, so that the residents of Curaçao can be properly informed.
An insider indicates that the real aim of the consultation is to agree on a joint strategy for the negotiations with the Netherlands on the granting of the corona loans provided to date. These are interest-free until April 1, but it is still unclear whether that will remain the case. A repayment schedule has not yet been established. As a closed front, the countries think they have a better chance of convincing the Netherlands to convert the loans - at least partially - into a donation.
The delegations are also trying to find common ground in their opposition to what they consider to be too far-reaching conditions that The Hague imposes on liquidity support. In particular, they would like to gradually reverse the imposed salary cut in the (semi) public sector.