Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque met on Wednesday with Prime Minister of Aruba Hon Evelyn Wever-Croes on Associate Membership in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for the Dutch Territory. The Secretary-General will also go on to visit Curacao and St. Maarten this week.

CARICOM Heads of Government earlier this year mandated the Secretary-General to begin the process of negotiations with the Dutch Territories in order to better determine their expectations of Associate Membership, and what benefits the relationship could yield for the Community. In a release the Caricom Secretariat said the Heads have also agreed to continue to examine the issue of an Enlargement Policy for CARICOM which currently has fifteen Full Members and five Associate Members.

The Secretary-General was accompanied at his Meeting with Prime Minister Wever-Croes by Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community relations Ambassador Colin Granderson, General Counsel Dr. Corlita Babb-Schaefer, and Adviser Mr. Neville Bissember. The Prime Minister was joined by Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs Mr Edwin Abath. The Secretary-General also paid a courtesy call on Aruba’s Governor H.E. Juan Alfonso Boekhoudt.