The US delegation on United States Customs and Immigration pre-clearance services meets with the Council of Ministers.
POND ISLAND--Members of Parliament learnt more about the plan to establish United States Customs and Immigration pre-clearance services at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) in an in-camera sitting of Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting of the legislature and a delegation from the US follows separate meetings held with the Council of Ministers and with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson on Tuesday.
The US representatives’ visit comes after Johnson’s February 27 letter to the US Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner for Enterprise Services US Customs and Border Protection on the pre-clearance project.
The visiting delegation updated the Council of Ministers and subsequently Parliament on the draft bilateral agreement for the establishment of US preclearance at PJIA. The delegation fielded questions from the ministers and provided details on progress to date, Johnson said in the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
“The US preclearance is a critical component of the economic revitalisation plan for my ministry and the government of St. Maarten, and it is clearly outlined as a priority for the St. Maarten United Christian Democratic Coalition,” said Johnson.
