Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin signs MOU with CDEMA Executive Director Ronald Jackson.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados--Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with CDEMA Executive Director Ronald Jackson at the CDEMA headquarters in Barbados on Monday.
The MOU ensures cooperation, coordination and mutual assistance in disaster risk management and aims to limit the impacts of climate change by strengthening the conditions necessary for sustainable regional development. The agreement will apply to Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the Netherlands, including the public entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
Commenting on the MOU, the prime minister said that with the MOU, the kingdom aims to further embed the Dutch Royal Navy and other assets at its disposal in the regional disaster coordination mechanism, enabling them to deliver the kingdom’s assistance even faster and more effectively to any nation in the region where necessary.
“Not only by means of this MOU, but also by playing an active part in the newly established Multinational Civil-Military Coordination Cell on Barbados (MNCCC-B) within CDEMA’s Regional Coordination Centre,” the prime minister said.
The MOU is “a first step to building a prosperous partnership for strengthening disaster management and building resilience in the region,” she added. “Additionally, I am optimistic that this first step will enable our cooperation towards St. Maarten’s pursuit of CDEMA membership.”
