Balkenende and Bijleveld-Schouten
to visit Netherlands Antilles, Aruba
PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten will be in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba for a working visit February 10-15.
The theme of this visit will be the revival of the relations within the Kingdom. Balkenende will be informed of the progress of the political process.
He and the State Secretary will be visiting projects in the fields of education, health care and economic development. Balkenende will deliver a guest lecture on dynamics in the Kingdom, society and economy at University of the Netherlands Antilles.
The Prime Minister and the State Secretary will visit all the islands during their stay.
Balkenende and Bijleveld-Schouten will arrive in St. Maarten Sunday evening, February 10. They will be received by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles Emily de Jongh-Elhage.
The two Dutch dignitaries will be in Saba and St. Eustatius on Monday, February 11. In Saba there will be discussions with Lt. Governor Hyden Gittens and the Executive Council, and Sacred Heart School will be visited. During lunch they will talk to persons from the community who are active in the fields of nature, tourism and the environment.
In St. Eustatius, there will be discussions in the afternoon with Lt. Governor Sydney Sorton and the Executive Council. The hospital and the oil terminal will also be visited.
There will be a reception in St. Maarten in the evening.
The delegation will be in St. Maarten on Tuesday, February 12, with discussions with the Executive Council and a visit to the Courthouse, where Balkenende will deliver a speech on law enforcement and good government.
He and Bijleveld-Schouten will leave for Bonaire in the afternoon to meet with Lt. Governor Herbert Domacassé and the Executive Council.
Prime Minister Balkenende will deliver a guest lecture at University of the Netherlands Antilles in Curaçao at the end of the afternoon. Afterwards, he will enter into a discussion with the students. In the evening, the Government of the Netherlands Antilles will offer a dinner.
The Prime Minister and the State Secretary will have discussions with Governor Goedgedrag in Curaçao on Wednesday, February 13. They will also visit Chairman of the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles Pedro Atacho. Furthermore, there will be discussions with Prime Minister De Jongh-Elhage and the Council of Ministers.
The delegation, accompanied Commissioner of Tourism and Economic Affairs Eugene Rhuggenaath, will visit the Renaissance project later in the afternoon. In the evening, there will be a reception with youngsters, the theme of which will be education, culture, sports and the business sector.
Balkenende and Bijleveld-Schouten will visit the Marine Barracks in Curaçao on Thursday, February 14. Here, attention will be given to a Department of Defence youth programme: “Future Plan Antillean Militia.” There will be consultations with the chairmen of the political parties in the Island Council of Curaçao later that morning.
The delegation will visit Tula Museum in the afternoon and a meeting has been scheduled with Lt. Governor Lisa Dindial and the Executive Council of Curaçao immediately afterward.
