INTERVENTION OF THE MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF ARUBA MR. EDWIN ABATH AT THE OCT/EU FORUM

Transcription

1 INTERVENTION OF THE MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF ARUBA MR. EDWIN ABATH AT THE OCT/EU FORUM SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 ILULISSAT L.G. Smith Boulevard 76, Oranjestad, Aruba Tel: (297) * Fax: (297)

2 Minister Nicolai Wammen, Member of the Danish government for European Affairs, Mr. Kuupik Vandersee Kleist, Prime Minister of the Government of Greenland, Mr. Maurice Ponga, Member of the European Parliament, Mr. Marcus Cornaro deputy director general of EuropeAid, Ministers, representatives, distinguished guests and participants, good morning. Ladies and Gentlemen, In February 2011 in Noumea we all pledged to work together towards what we then called a Mutually Beneficial Partnership. At that occasion we stated that we in Aruba firmly believed that such a new kind of strategic partnership could strengthen our position in our respective regions and around the globe. Two months ago we received the proposal of the Commission for a new Overseas Association Decision. We believe that this proposal is in line with what we had in mind in Noumea. We are making a step forward in the direction of a reciprocal partnership, which is based on the desire of the OCT to have a sustainable development. A partnership built on the basis of the solidarity that we have with each other as members of the European family. The three pillars of the new partnership comprising of: 1) enhancing competitiveness; 2) strengthening resilience and 3) reducing vulnerability and promoting cooperation between the OCT s and other partners and neighboring regions, are very relevant for us. Key elements in the new OAD like promoting green growth and the promotion of research, innovation and scientific cooperation activities are matters that are of utmost importance for Aruba. Aruba aspires to be a centre of excellence in our region. And we are working hard to become one. We are in a hurry Pagina 2 van 5

3 however, and did not wait for Europe. On our own we have been working very hard especially in the field of renewable energy. We have a clear vision and we want to make our contribution. We are implementing a green economic policy that is based on alliances with strategic partners and high profile international conferences. You may have heard of our yearly Aruba Green Conference on renewable energy where we gather experts from around the globe. We make our Island available as a laboratory for cutting edge technology and bright policy. And at this occasion we thank the Commission for sponsoring the full participation of 2 representatives per OCT to attend next week s Aruba Green Conference. We will gladly share with you what we do and how we plan to transform our community by 2020 into a 100 % carbon emission free society relying also for 100% on energy from renewable sources. But we cannot do this alone. Greening our economy has a cost. On the other side there is always a testing need for large research entities and we offer the right circumstances to conduct year-round testing in favorable circumstances. We are convinced that working with the right partners may enable us to flip this liability into an asset. As such the process of greening our economy is becoming an economic driver. Aruba is working with TNO, a renowned not-for-profit organization for applied scientific research in the Netherlands. In addition, Aruba has established partnerships with several globally operating entities such as Carbon War Room, a NGO lead by the renown entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson whose primary goal is to achieve the reduction of CO2 emissions through smart initiatives. The New America Foundation is a US based Think Tank, focusing on a wide range of policy matters, chaired by Googles CEO Eric Smidt. Pagina 3 van 5

4 And as mentioned last Tuesday during the OCTA Ministerial panel: The New America Foundation and Harvard University have teamed up to jointly develop Aruba as a model for other countries to transition off fossil fuels and to pursue smart growth of world class electrified and walkable communities. As you can hear we have adjusted our goals. We want to do even more in a shorter time frame. We have been working hard, and by choosing the right partners we have been able to do more. However we always feel the constraints of our very small scale and we are sure that we can do even better if we could operate effectively within the larger framework of this renewed EU-OCT relationship. We want to do our job in this new strategic partnership and we know that we have the right assets and the resources to play a constructive role to create a win win result for all the partners: We have an abundance of natural energy present in solar, wind and marine sources; A highly educated multilingual workforce; An excellent infrastructure; Solid constitutional links to the Netherlands and the EU and a friendly political climate welcoming knowledge and investments. We have the assets and with the new OAD a framework to work with the EU in a strategic partnership. However this does not mean that the new partnership will work. We need something more. Something essential. We must stress that giving real content to the concept of a strategic partnership requires that we will be in a permanent dialogue with the EU. Every cooperation requires procedures, rules and regulations. However we need to always bear in mind that those procedures, rules and regulations should fit in the framework of creating a better functioning cooperation. They should never be used to hamper the cooperation. The keywords should be flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness, removing obstacles. Pagina 4 van 5

5 It is the first time after more than 50 years that there is a new approach, a new road towards building a new kind or OCT-EU relationship. We are in uncharted waters. I think that in implementing the new OAD we sometimes will have to think outside the box. When necessary we should look together for new instruments that can make things happen. We also expect the EU to continue its support in making horizontal programs accessible and available so we can use these to achieve our common goals. In this respect we welcome the funding of the new OCTA Bureau of Experts. And the EU has to bear in mind that we are not talking about aid, we are talking about the EU investing in a strategic partnership and that is in the benefit of Europe itself. Ladies and gentlemen in conclusion allow me to finish just like our delegation did in Noumea with a special request. For a better functioning of the strategic partnership that we are now creating we think that it would be very helpful if we could have a physical presence of the European Union in Aruba. As a matter of fact we have already built our own version of a Europe House in Aruba. We are ready to welcome our EU friends. Our Europe House will make the functioning of our new partnership with the EU easier and at the same time the presence of a Europe House sends a clear signal to our friends and neighbors that Aruba is part of the larger EU-OCT team. Pagina 5 van 5