Curacao, Aruba, St. Maarten invited to join Kingdom delegation to WTO

THE HAGUE--The governments of Curaçao, Aruba, and St. Maarten have been formally invited by Dutch State Secretary for Foreign Trade Hanneke Boerma to participate in the Kingdom of the Netherlands delegation to the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, scheduled to be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from March 26 to 29, 2026.

The invitation provides an opportunity for the three autonomous Caribbean countries within the Kingdom to engage directly in high-level discussions shaping international trade policy. The governments have until September 16 to designate their representatives.

Curaçao, which currently holds observer status at the WTO, may also choose to attend the conference separately as part of its ongoing exploration of full membership.

The WTO Ministerial Conference is the organization’s primary forum for making decisions on global trade rules and agreements. Participation by the Dutch Caribbean countries reflects an increasing interest in expanding their roles within the multilateral trade system and aligning more closely with global economic governance frameworks.

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