Dutch Foreign Min. to meet with French, British colleagues about Hurricane Irma
Minister Bert Koenders is on his way to Tallinn to meet with his French and British counterparts for a discussion on the consequences of devastating Hurricane Irma, the Telegraaf reports. "We are in close contact with the other affected countries. It's time to put our shoulders to the wheel", Koenders said to the newspaper.
The EU Foreign Affairs Ministers are meeting in Tallin, the capital of Estonia, today. Estonia is the current president of the European Union.
Minister Koenders was set to take part in a crisis meeting about the hurricane in The Hague on Thursday morning, but went to meet his colleagues from France and Great Britain instead. His Ministry still formed part of the meeting, which was held to discuss aid for the islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
The government's first goal is to provide the residents of Sint Maarten, which sustained massive material damage, with food, clean water and other necessary supplies, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a press conference after the meeting. The damage to Sint Eustatius and Saba was less severe. No one was killed on those two islands. Whether there were any fatalities on Sint Maarten, is still unclear.
