PHILIPSBURG - There is still little prospect of an end to the dispute between the Kingdom and France over part of the border between Dutch and French Sint Maarten. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs discussed the issue with Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs during his visit to Philipsburg.
Both ministers stated after their consultations that they were "satisfied with the progress" of the negotiations. They have been dragging themselves from one technical official consultation to another for years without having led to concrete agreements. Hoekstra announced that he would like to hold a four-party meeting early next year.
In 1648, France and the Netherlands established the division of Sint Maarten in a treaty. For a century and a half there has been quarreling about the exact border. In 1817 the division was formalized, after which peace returned. Until 2016 when the gendarmerie raided a restaurant at Oyster Pond because it was being renovated without a (French) permit. The government of Sint Maarten denied that it was French territory. For a moment, the situation threatened to escalate. 'The Hague' acted soothingly. Under pressure from the House of Representatives, the government decided to make an attempt to finally resolve the border dispute, but so far it has not been able to gain a foothold in Paris.
Hoekstra held a periodic Four-Country Consultation on Foreign Relations in Willemstad on Tuesday with Prime Ministers Wever-Croes, Pisas and Jacobs. The countries have agreed to open "technical" talks with the Maduro regime on a (phased) reopening of the closed border with Venezuela since 2019.