PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – A delegation from Sint Maarten was in Brussels to attend the Summit of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) Energy Ministers from June 16 to 18, 2015.
The OCT Sustainable Energy Roadmap was signed by Minister Plenipotentiary Artsen on behalf of Sint Maarten.
At the Overseas Countries and Territories Ministerial Conference, held on February 26th, 2015 in Tortola, sustainable energy was identified as an essential area of cooperation.
During this conference OCT governments agreed to support the development of an OCT Sustainable Energy Roadmap to help reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and improve their energy efficiency.
The Summit of the OCT Energy Ministers was the setting for the adoption of this OCT wide Sustainable Energy Roadmap, facilitating and supporting the path towards lowering fossil fuel dependency and increasing energy efficiency to further assist OCTs in the transition to sustainable energy.
During the Summit, Sint Maarten as Regional Authorizing Officer (RAO) for the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Regional Program (€ 40 million) presented an update on the progress made during the programming phase and outlined the proposed actions and way forward for the coming four years.
In addition, a selection of the identified sustainable energy priority areas for the Caribbean OCTs and a proposal for a possible joint project were shared with the participants.
The Energy Summit also gave OCTs the opportunity to provide guidance regarding sustainable energy priorities for the Thematic Program (€16-18 million) under the 11th EDF.
The Sint Maarten delegation comprised of the Hon. Minister Plenipotentiary Josianne Fleming-Artsen, Olivia Lake, Policy Advisor Donor Coordination and EU Relations, Claire Hooft-Graafland, Senior Policy Advisor Nature and Environment and Carol Voges, Sint Maarten Representative in the Netherlands for EU Relations.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Minister Hon. Josianne Fleming–Artsen (6th from left) with representatives from other member Overseas Countries and Territories that took part in the Summit.
