King and Queen to visit St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG – King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will visit St. Maarten on Saturday December 2 as part of a tour that includes visits to Saba and Statia. State Secretary Raymond Knops (Kingdom Relations) will accompany the royal couple.

King and Queen arrive in St. Maarten on Thursday November 30. The next day they travel to Saba to attend the celebration of Saba Day. “Next to the celebration of this traditional holiday, there is attention for environmental protection,” the government information service (RVD) states in a press release.

Prior to the visit to Saba, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will spend the afternoon of Thursday November 30 in Statia.

The visit to St. Maarten focuses on the reconstruction of the island after the devastation Hurricane Irma caused in early September.

State Secretary Knops arrives ahead of the royals, on Monday November 27. Knops will get acquainted with the governments in Saba, Statia and St. Maarten and he will speak with representatives from the private sector and from non-governmental organizations about the reconstruction. He will also visit several organizations.

Knops says in a press statement that he is looking forward to his first visit to the Caribbean. “I want to see with my own eyes how the situation is right now for the population of St. Maarten, Statia and Saba. The heavy hurricanes that hit the islands we began immediately with the provision of emergency assistance. Furthermore the government had made €550 million available for the reconstruction of St. Maarten and €67 million for Saba and Statia. We have to take action quickly now.”

Knops visit to the islands begins on Monday November 27 in St. Maarten. In the afternoon of the next day he visits Saba and a day later he is during the afternoon in Statia.