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POINTE BLANCHE/PANAMA--Port St. Maarten Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo took part in a top-level CEO Round Table Meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Panama Minister of Canal Affairs Roberto Roy and Panama Canal Authority ACP Administrator Jorge Quijano in Panama City on Sunday.

A St. Maarten delegation present was headed by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor. Rutte was present on behalf of the Dutch government.

The local delegation had been invited by the Dutch Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers VNO-NCW. VNO-NCW President Hans de Boer moderated the meeting.

Also in attendance were Aruba Prime Minister Mike Eman, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives and Kingdom of the Netherlands Ambassador to Panama Wiebe de Boer.

Points of discussion at the CEO Round Table Meeting included the strategic connectivity with the islands and Panama; a diversification strategy; a five-year plan on energy policy; impact of the opening of the Panama Canal third lock and opportunities in new feeder connections; improving the investment climate between Panama and St. Maarten; fiscal incentives; and maritime cooperation with Panama and the Caribbean region.

Mingo said he had been looking forward to bringing the Port St. Maarten perspective forth at the meeting.

"I feel proud that Port St. Maarten was invited, and we along with Minister Claret Connor proudly represented country St. Maarten on this international stage as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands delegation," he said. "There are major global trade developments taking place where it concerns the shipment of goods around the world in the most efficient and fastest way possible.

"Panama Canal Authority is already looking at building a fourth lock that would allow it to handle a new generation of the world's biggest containerised ships carrying 20,000 containers. This would allow Panama to compete head-on with Egypt's Suez Canal."

The expansion will double capacity and allow longer and wider ships to transit between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The new section of the canal should open on April 1, 2016.

"[This – Ed.] costs around US $17 billion and takes approximately 15 years to complete. Port St. Maarten cargo facility investments have led to a steady growth in containerised business, making the island a regional sub-hub for the Northeastern Caribbean," Mingo added.

"We are gearing up for the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, which will place much greater emphasis on feeder ports such as St. Maarten. As a small island nation and a small port, we have accomplished a lot and there is much more to do where we further enhance our role as a regional port player."

He said Panama was leveraging its two primary assets – its natural geographic location and the Panama Canal – to create an aggressive economic development strategy. Key to Panama's strategic location is the waterway, the expansion of which is promoting development in sectors such as tourism, logistics, construction and insurance.

Minister Connor said Port St. Maarten had developed itself as a major player globally and much more could be done, considering the island's geographic advantage to the rest of the Kingdom.

"As we continue to move St. Maarten forward into the regional hub of the Northeastern Caribbean, this brings increased economic development which benefits our country's overall development," he said on Sunday.

Port St. Maarten serves Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda. The port is also in the process of developing a special relationship with the Caribbean Netherlands islands Saba and St. Eustatius with respect to port handling, operations, economic development and sustainability. Both islands receive their cargo shipments/services from Port St. Maarten.

VNO-NCW is the largest employers' organisation in the Netherlands, representing the common interests of businesses at home and abroad, and providing a variety of services for more than 160 member associations and more than 115,000 enterprises. It covers all economy sectors, including more than 80 per cent of all medium-size companies and nearly all of the larger corporate institutions.

Other companies participating included APM Terminals Management, Royal BAM Group, Royal Boskalis Westminister, Damen Shipyards Group, Royal IHC, Iv-Consult, KPMG, Van Oord, Royal Philips, Royal Vopak, VT Group, Witteveen+Bos Consulting Engineers, Aruba Ports Authority and Curaçao Ports Authority.