Txt_Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles consists of five Caribbean Islands colonized by the Dutch: Curacao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius . A sixth island in the Antilles, Aruba, gained autonomy in 1986 from the Netherlands Antilles. The economy of the islands relies almost exclusively on tourism. The Embassy of India in Caracas is concurrently accredited to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (the Ambassador is ex-officio Consul General in these Islands).

Indian Passport holders require a Visa to visit all 6 islands of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Aruba and Curacao are approximately half -hour flight from Caracas while St. Maarten is approximately two and a half hours flight via Curacao. The other three Islands are very sparsely inhabited and hardly have any Indian population.

The Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, drawn up in 1954, sets out the ties binding the Kingdom’s three partner countries: the Netherlands in Europe, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. Since 1986, these three countries have had an equal voice in the Kingdom, making it a kind of federation.

In fact, Kingdom-wide legislation is limited to only a few policy areas: defence, national sovereignty, foreign relations, citizenship, the rules governing extradition, and those governing the admission and expulsion of foreign nationals. The Kingdom concludes international agreements on behalf of the partner governments affected, but in close collaboration with them – and it is up to each to them to decide whether they are affected.

The Dutch monarch is head of state of both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and each of its three partner countries. The Netherlands Antilles (comprising Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten) and Aruba each have a governor representing the monarch.

An important Kingdom-wide institution is the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom, which consists of the Dutch Cabinet and ministers plenipotentiary for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Kingdom-wide legislation is proposed by the Government of the Kingdom (consisting of the monarch and the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom) and passed by the Dutch Parliament (or “States-General”) in The Hague. There are two other Kingdom-wide institutions: the Council of State for the Kingdom and the Supreme Court of the Kingdom.

The Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands lays down that the Constitutions of Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Netherlands in Europe must each serve as the basis for their systems of government.

Minister President of the Netherlands Antilles: H.E. Mrs. Emily S. de Jongh-Elhage