Our vision
The Divi Divi tree, the icon to Aruba’s flora, is a
hearty tree that survives the dry and windy climate
by growing in harmony with the one-way wind
which is inherent to the island’s natural
environment. The Divi Divi is therefore a symbol and
a model for adaptability and being One with nature.
When a country finds itself adrift the lessons from
the Divi Divi tree are: to work with your strengths,
respect the forces of nature, embrace the inevitability of change and stay pointed in
the right direction to be able to take control of the future.
In contemplating our administration's vision to fundamentally rebuild and improve the
wellbeing and quality of life for Aruba’s inhabitants and its visitors, it became clear this
would require a new set of terms which encompassed fundamentally transforming
leadership on the island and its relationship with a wide array of stakeholders
comprising our community. It was only through a clear and thoughtful delineation of
that vision, and a proactive dialogue with an engaged citizenry, that we have been able
to accomplish the first phase of our vision; addressing and putting in place basic fiscal
balance and long term structural changes in government expenditures to maintain that
balance.
Aruba is currently executing the second phase of our vision, attaining social-economic
progress based on smart sustainable growth, which enables us to deliver long-lasting
prosperity. This social-economic progress entails the delivery of a “product Aruba” that
speaks of a more elevated human experience for those of us who live on Aruba as well
as for those who visit the island. A key driver and tangible evidence of this approach is
being achieved through the government’s “Bo Aruba” and “Bo Bario” initiatives which
are establishing physical and social building blocks for a superior experience on the
island with the focus on social participation. In executing “Bo Aruba” and “Bo Bario”,
the government of Aruba is setting a standard for the private sector to follow and
emulate. While these initiatives are extensive, our government has again implemented
detailed plans and procedures to ensure proper and timely execution of proposed
plans, which are already showing tangible results. Our Cabinet has demonstrated a
competency for delivering on difficult challenges through the reforms based on the
“Social Dialogue”; inclusive participation of the community.
As a part of delivering a superior experience for all, Aruba is moving from a long period
of capacity expansion in hotels towards higher quality in its resort offering. The
combination of diminished capacity expansion and significant quality improvement of
the existing resort assets, will lead to higher prices for the product Aruba, offering
higher performance, improved salaries and greater government revenues, while
safeguarding the environmental and social balance of the island and its citizenry.
The development of an additional pillar in our economy is to help bring greater
diversification, economic stability, growth and sustainability. The additional pillar is
composed of our initiative to develop the island as a robust gateway between Latin
America, the United States and the European Union for commerce and investments. A
particular focus of this strategy will be the GreenTech Initiatives. Significantly higher
salaries associated with the GreenTech sector will pair well with economic growth and
higher salaries derived from higher quality resort offerings, all of which will result in a
significantly improved quality of life for the people of Aruba.
Our ultimate goal is to set a proper balance between the vital dimensions of what it
means to be human, and sustained economic growth and Aruba really strives to
achieve this. The pursuit of happiness and wellbeing are the cornerstone in Aruba’s
approach.
Economic Third Pillar: diversification Through GreenTech initiatives
The Outlook
The government of Aruba’s vision is to harness the geographic location, highly
educated labor base, and political skills set to build bridges ranging from Latin America
and the Caribbean to the rest of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European
Union. To this end, a Gateway Vision has been established by this Cabinet to create a
hub for a Science and Technology Park (“Park”) in Aruba that will strive for the
innovation and competitiveness of knowledge-based institutions.
The Gateway Vision is a two-step undertaking with the first being the pre-development
work to conceptualize the Park. In parallel, the government has already signed key
international commitments, as a prelude to the Park that drives progress and ensures
that the Gateway Vision will yield immediate results. The initiative and eventually the
creation of the Park is to enable, stimulate and manage the flow of knowledge and
technology among universities, R&D institutions, companies and markets; the goal is
for Aruba to create and grow an environment for innovation-based companies through
an incubation, and spin-off processes.
The Objective
The Government believes that Aruba is positioned to become a robust gateway
between Latin America, the United States and the European Union for commerce,
political dialogue and investments. Aruba intends to play a larger role both regionally
and globally, and the Cabinet of Mike Eman is actively focused on stimulating
diversification of the local economy.
The focal point in this effort is to explore the possibilities for Aruba to become a key
player in technology research. The Government already has taken the first steps in this
direction in the field of sustainable energy technology. Since Aruba has the best
possible climatological circumstances (wind, water, sun), the Government is
developing an international research facility that will take advantage of Aruba’s
abundant wind, water and sun to conduct research and testing of the newest
technologies in the field of sustainable energy and to offer courses and conferences for
the region. Some initiatives by the Government of Aruba to further develop towards
more sustainable energy for Aruba is by educating Aruba’s residents on how to
efficiently use electricity. This year the Government of Aruba has visited 10.000
households together with local students, to create awareness among the residents and
supplying them with a “water and energy saving kit”. The Government of Aruba’s aim
is to make this a yearly program. Another initiative that will help to drastically reduce
electricity cost in Aruba is the introduction of LED street lighting.
Diversification of the economy and reducing Aruba’s over reliance on a single sector is
a lynch pin of the Government’s long term strategic goals. Targeting the energy sector
as the source of diversification will enable the economy to achieve another of the
Cabinet’s primary goals, the widening of its tax base, while at the same time benefiting
from the high valued jobs and accompanying salaries related to the technology sector.
Caribbean Branch Office TNO (CBOT)
As part of this broad and aggressive initiative, Aruba established together with TNO a
sustainable technology center of expertise focusing on adapting renewable energy and
clean tech solutions to the (tropical) island setting. TNO is a renowned not-for-profit
Organization for Applied Scientific Research in the Netherlands and has branches in
Brussels, Qatar and now in Aruba. The center will assist Aruba in its transition to a
more sustainable energy system taking advantage of the nearly constant supply of sun,
wind and waves. CBOT developed together with the key Aruban energy players a
Roadmap Sustainable Energy 2020 for Aruba, outlining a framework for a renewable
energy transition. Furthermore, the center further is in the process of developing a
“Smart Community Aruba” with local partners. This “Smart Aruba Community” is a 20
unit residential development in which sustainable building techniques and energy
technology, including smart grid technology and new business models for energy
services, will be demonstrated. Aruba’s partnership with CBOT, aimed at developing
and demonstrating a more sustainable future, will be leveraged to provide educational
and training opportunities for Aruban residents, international students and
professionals. It will form a knowledge cross-road for Europe and the America’s. Aruba
and CBOT’s ambition is to develop a model for sustainable island economy transitions.
A model that can be replicated in the region and serve as a new export product for
Aruba’s knowledge economy.
The Dutch Kingdom and the America’s
The center will leverage Aruba’s position as a member of the Dutch Kingdom and a
recognized European Overseas Country Territory (OCT) to pursue matching funding for
its activities. It will build on its relationships with Dutch as well as American research
institutions. Aruba and TNO are already working together with the Delft University of
Technology, one of the top engineering and research universities in Europe. In addition
to a top tier European university, the center will also establish partnerships with
American universities with compatible research interests in renewable energy. There
will be a technical educational component in partnership with technical colleges from
The Netherlands (such as Rotterdam and Hanze) to provide Dutch and Aruban students
with an opportunity to gain experience in real life, cutting edge, and to test facility
projects. Finally, there will be a professional development component targeting energy
professionals responsible for designing, building and maintaining sustainable energy
systems.
Independent field lab
The institute will be funded through a combination of sources. Aruba will provide
support by making unique field lab facilities available and stimulating pilot projects. EU
and Dutch funding will be leveraged to develop a strong research and educational
program. Private funding will be attracted for demos, pilots, testing & certification of
technology for the North and South American markets. The CBOT activities will be
coordinated by a non-profit entity. The center will build on a number of efforts that are
currently in development and offer a real life test lab.
Europe house
The opening of the Europe House further capitalizes the Government’s initiatives to
diversify the economy as being a strategic outpost to the EU. This initiative takes
advantage of the expanding economies in Latin America and the embeddedness of
Aruba within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the diversification of the economy
through science and technology. The Europe House will be a focal point in all EUrelated initiatives with the purpose of identifying, initiating and further development of
transatlantic trade opportunities, recognizing Aruba as being the green gateway
between Latin-America and Europe. The Europe House will provide easy access to
information for the inhabitants of Aruba. It will also help to maintain and increase the
visibility, awareness and understanding of the EU by developing and implementing an
information and communication strategy.
In summary, the Gateway vision is to develop and foster initiatives and eventually a
science and technology park that would include:
 Public and private research development facilities
 High technology and science based companies
 Multi-institutional education and training facilities
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And would foster:
Generation of high quality, high paying jobs
Diversification of the economy
The formation of new technology companies
The growth of young technology companies
The development, transfer and commercialization of technology
Collaboration and innovation between researchers, companies, and educators