ATLANTA - The Royal Couple is on a working visit to the U.S., leading a trade mission from the Netherlands and has invited our Minister of Economic Development, Ruisandro Cijntje, to accompany them. The visit focuses on Atlanta and Savannah in the state of Georgia, and then continues to Albany and New York City.
The state of Georgia is among the top 10 important markets for Dutch exports and investments. Around 65 Dutch companies are established in Georgia, providing 30,000 jobs, and 35 Georgian companies operate in the Netherlands. In total, over 90,000 people of Dutch descent reside in Georgia. Within this context, the Netherlands organized this visit to demonstrate commitment, offer support, and foster more business for its companies. The sectors represented in this Dutch mission include logistics, finance, creative industries, and technology.
Objectives of Curaçao's Participation
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended an invitation to Minister Cijntje to join this mission. Besides commercial interests, the Netherlands also seeks to establish connections with the African American community, which shares a common history with the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom in areas such as heritage, emancipation, reparations, and equality. Through integral development, the city of Atlanta is working to improve the living standards of African American citizens, who tend to lag behind.
Minister Cijntje sees a great opportunity to position Curaçao in Atlanta and Savannah and create connections to deepen these relationships. In sports and tourism, Curaçao already has strong ties, evident from our baseball players in Atlanta and the direct flights with Delta Airlines. However, there are numerous opportunities in business and education. The creative sector, small businesses, entrepreneurship, socio-economic, and cultural development are strong areas for collaboration with Atlanta. Additionally, there are opportunities for our youth to seek advanced education at universities like Georgia Tech, SCAD, and many others.
Minister Cijntje also met with the Curaçaoan diaspora living in Atlanta and plans to work on a database of our people in Georgia to maintain contact and include them in the relationships with Georgia and the developments in Curaçao.