WILLEMSTAD - Recently, Minister of Economic Development, Ruisandro Cijntje, presented the scientific report 'The Curaçaoan economy in relation to other small island states' to the Council of Ministers, which compares the economy of Curaçao with the economies of other small developing countries, the so-called 'Small Island Development States'.
With the aim of providing real content to the study's results, the report proposes specific interventions, taking into account Curaçao's development from the year 2000 and its progress compared to other developing countries. Some of the recommendations from the report include attracting more direct foreign investment, implementing a strategy to modernize the concept of Free Zones (E-Zones), promoting sectors with the capacity to attract foreign exchange, such as 'Transnational Education', and other value-added export sectors as determined in the 'National Export Strategy'. All these are aspects that the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO) will work on or is already working on in 2024 to ensure sustainable development for Curaçao.
MEO conducted this research to study the structure of Curaçao's economy at the macroeconomic level compared to other small islands in development (SIDS). This took place with the assistance of the International Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG International) and with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). The study was conducted by Professor Roger Hosein from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.
In addition to examining Curaçao's economic structure in comparison to other small islands in development on a macroeconomic basis, the goal of this study was also to identify economic needs and find ways to address these needs to derive economic benefits. The results of the study specifically provide information on, one hand, the aspects in which Curaçao, compared to other small islands in development, excels, and on the other hand, the aspects where Curaçao is deficient. Furthermore, the study offers insights into the structure of local commerce, i.e., the capacity to generate foreign exchange, and the structure of local production, related to stability and economic growth. These considerations take into account management conditions associated with the theme and economic interventions applied by other small islands in development to achieve sustainable development for the country of Curaçao as well.
Click here for the report.