Minister Plenipotentiary mr. Ady Thijsen had a meeting today with the president of MKB Nederland Jacco Vonhof. The purpose of this visit is to firstly to get acquainted and then to exchange on some topics that may be of importance to Aruba in the field of small and medium enterprises. Mr. Thijsen spoke with Mr. Vonhof on how the pandemic has hit Aruba’s economy hard, noting that the main pillar is tourism.
At the same time, according to Minister Thijsen, Aruba is one of the countries that recovered most quickly after the pandemic. These are developments that financial institutions such as the IMF are also voicing.
One important thing we learned from the pandemic is that Aruba needs to diversify its economy. Aruba used to be a major economic pillar with refineries and tourism. Now only tourism is the mainstay of the economy. In this context, Aruba is part of the transition to alternative energy. A MOU has just been signed between state-owned utility companies of Aruba and the Spanish company Accion na Energia. Along with the use of LNG for electricity production, it makes Aruba a trendsetter in the Caribbean region.
The next step is agriculture, where we are in conversation with Wageningen University about the possibilities in this field. What is also important is the stimulation of the small and medium enterprise sector, which is the backbone of our economy. I believe that through cooperation we should be able to stimulate our people to be good entrepreneurs. It will also be necessary to look at where the process can be improved and provide structure where this is needed.
We need to create an environment where especially our young people who often have a good idea, have the guidance and tools to start their own businesses. Aruba has a lot of potential, so it would be good to see where MKB Netherlands can help entrepreneurs in Aruba, “said Minister Thijsen.
The president of MKB Nederland, Jacco Vonhof, told Minister Thijsen that he recognized much of what the president had said about the situation with MKB companies in the Netherlands. Vonhof: MKB Netherlands has a lot of expertise and we are certainly willing to explore ways in which we can help and support merchants in Aruba. It would be good to make an inventory of what is missing from the merchants, so that we can see in which field we can be of need.
With your organization, there should be more research on this. We will look within MKB Nederland and other partners at the possibilities. ⁇
Minister Thijsen said he was pleased that MKB Nederland was open to providing the necessary cooperation. ‘
At a time when Aruba is in the midst of reforms in various fields within the framework of the ⁇ Onderlinge Regeling, it is time to stimulate the small and medium enterprise sector. We know of companies in Aruba that have a good product, which they are currently exporting to Curaçao, among others, while the product has the potential to be exported to Europe.
Here we must create the possibility for the trader to grow and grow with confidence. The advantage of this is that if more Arubaans are commercially successful, this is a huge benefit for Aruba, where companies are investing in the economy of Aruba, so the money stays in Aruba, “said Minister Thijsen. The word was that Minister Thijsen would give inventory to the business organizations as to what their needs were and then meet with them again. Minister Thijsen thanked Jacco Vonhof for the very pleasant meeting and expressed confidence that there are possibilities for cooperation.
1 comment
[…] Source link […]