Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary Michael Somersall (left) and staff welcomed Minister Wycliffe Smith (second left) to the St. Maarten House in The Hague.
PHILIPSBURG--Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Wycliffe Smith, during a personal visit to the Netherlands, made use of the opportunity to pay a courtesy call to the cabinet of St. Maarten’s Plenipotentiary Minister at the new St. Maarten House on Prinsessegracht in The Hague.
He was greeted by Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary Michael Somersall and the cabinet’s staff. Smith held meetings with the staff, and with student counsellors and several students.
After a brief tour of the premises, Smith sat with Somersall and was informed of the different plans and initiatives on which the cabinet was working to assist the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
Highlights of the discussion included assistance and connection with students in the Netherlands; recruitment of teachers for the island; closer contact with guidance counsellors; the establishment of a data bank; information sharing; and initiatives taken by some students to promote arts, culture and sports in the Netherlands.
Smith said he is very grateful for all the cabinet is doing to assist his Ministry and is looking forward to an even closer working relationship in the future.
