THE HAGUE - A delegation of thirteen members of the permanent committee for Kingdom Relations of the Dutch Senate (KOREL) is leaving today for a working visit to the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. All six islands will be visited in just 10 days.
The delegation wishes to be informed by its Caribbean partners about matters that are important to the islands. For the senators, the talks serve as an in-depth look at the legislative files that the Senate is dealing with or will deal with and are also aimed at strengthening relations within the Kingdom.
The working visit also offers the spokespersons of medium-sized and smaller political groups in the Senate the opportunity to personally become acquainted with the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, as they are usually not part of the delegation of MPs of the First and Second Chamber at the biannual Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO).
The members of the Senate speak on the islands with, among others, the governors and lieutenant governors, island governments, local MPs, employers' and employees' organizations, school boards, representatives of the health care sector, business owners, persons and organizations from the law enforcement chain, consumer organizations, young people and others.
The delegation consists of the Senate members Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks, delegation leader), Toine Beukering (Nanninga Group, vice delegation leader), Annemarie Jorritsma-Lebbink (VVD), Ria Oomen-Ruijten (CDA), Boris Dittrich (D66), Jeroen Recourt (PvdA), Arda Gerkens (SP), Peter Ester (ChristenUnie), Peter Nicolaï (PvdD), Martine Baay-Timmerman (50PLUS), Peter Schalk (SGP), Jeroen de Vries (Fractie-Otten) and Ton Raven (OSF). The delegation is officially supervised by Fred Bergman, committee clerk, and Maarten van Rooij, staff member.
The delegation will visit: Sint Maarten (25-26 February), Saba (27-28 February), Sint Eustatius (28 February-1 March), Bonaire (2-3 March), Curaçao (3-4 March) and Aruba (March 4-5).