WILLEMSTAD - Minister of Economic Development, Ruisandro Cijntje is on a business trip in Geneva. He attends the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) there. The meeting of the legislative body will last until Wednesday, June 15. This is the first time that a minister of Curaçao attends this meeting of the WTO. Curaçao has been an observer member since November 2020.
If all negotiations go according to plan, Curaçao will receive independent WTO member status in December 2023. The WTO ministerial conference takes place every two years. Ministers from the 164 member states with trade in their portfolios then come together to take important decisions on international trade. Initially, the conference was to take place in November last year. It was postponed due to Covid-19.
After the WTO meeting, Cijntje will travel on to Brussels. There he will hold introductory talks with members of the European Parliament and the Permanent Representation at the embassy in Brussels until 17 June. Finally, discussions are planned with authorities and stakeholders in the Netherlands. On June 19, Cijntje returns to the Netherlands.