MINISTER CIJNTJE VISITS THE U.S. WITH KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER AND QUEEN MAXIMA!

Among other engagements, they met with the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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 in the top 10 of important export and investment markets for the Netherlands. There are around 65 Dutch companies established in Georgia, providing 30,000 jobs, and 35 Georgian companies in the Netherlands. In total, there are more than 90,000 people of Dutch descent residing in Georgia. In this context, the Netherlands organized this visit to show commitment, offer support, and strengthen business for its companies. The sectors represented in this Dutch mission are logistics, finance, creative, and technology.

The Dutch foreign relations extended an invitation to Minister Cijntje to join this mission. Besides commercial interests, the Netherlands is also seeking connections with the African American community, which has a shared history with the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom in the areas of heritage, emancipation, reparations, and equality. Through integral development, the city of Atlanta is working to raise the living standards of African American citizens who tend to lag behind. Minister Cijntje saw a good opportunity to position Curaçao in Atlanta and Savannah and create contacts to further deepen these relationships. In the fields of sports and tourism, we already have very good relations considering our baseball players moving to Atlanta and the fact that we have direct flights with Delta Airlines. But there are many business and education opportunities as well. Creative sector, small businesses, entrepreneurship, socio-economic, and cultural development are strong development areas with Atlanta. Additionally, there are opportunities for our youth to seek advanced education at universities like Georgia Tech, SCAD, and many more. Minister Cijntje also met with the Curaçao diaspora living in Atlanta and will work on a database of our people in Georgia to maintain contact with them and include them in the relations with Georgia and developments in Curaçao.

The visit to Atlanta started with a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center), where the delegation received a tour of the museum that has the largest collection of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The King Center was established in 1968 by Dr. King’s wife and promotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism for nonviolence, equality, and freedom as he preached in his famous 1963 speech that is still referred to today, “I have a dream.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King, guided the delegation through the museum and exchanged ideas on possibilities for cooperation. She mentioned the fact that the King apologized for the history of the slave trade, which is a positive sign. At the end of the tour, the Royal Couple laid a wreath in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s remains and his home on behalf of the Kingdom. Next to the museum is the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King used to preach, and which is a mecca for activism for equality. Here, the Royal Couple exchanged views with young people from the community and listened to what they are doing to keep Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream alive. Later, the delegation met with the mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, and toured the Beltline, a recreational area in Atlanta that has transformed the city structure after converting a railway ring into an area for meeting, recreation, fun, sports, and housing. The Beltline is a project of great impact, and the Netherlands played an important role in helping create the conditions and rehabilitation of the Beltline.