PHILIPSBURG – During a meeting on Sint Maarten, the allocation of the €200 million budget provided by The Hague after apologizing for the slavery history was discussed.
Each region, including the Netherlands, Suriname, and the Caribbean part, is allocated a maximum of €66 million. These funds are specifically designated for social initiatives and policy enhancement.
The Catshuis session on Sint Maarten served as a platform for this crucial discussion, with representatives from the involved regions in attendance. In addition to financial distribution, other topics were also discussed, such as the slavery history and the progress of various projects in the respective areas.
The meeting was opened by State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen of Kingdom Relations and Barbera Wolfensberger, the Director-General for Culture and Media.
The session was initiated by the Dutch government and aimed to promote collaboration between the islands on this subject. On the first day, the ministries of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations, as well as Education, Culture, and Science, presented their findings, followed by a panel discussion. This provided the attendees with the opportunity to share updates on their own islands' progress concerning the slavery history.