WESTERN HEMISPHERE DEPARTMENT
The Hague,
November 8, 1988
No. 6-7/242744
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United
States of America and has the honour to refer to its Note No. 236220 of September 28, 1987, and to conversations which have taken place between representatives
of the two Governments and of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC),
on the subject of a simplified procedure regarding the issuance of political risk
insurance by OPIC to US business enterprises undertaking activities in the Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba.
The Ministry takes pleasure in informing the Embassy that the competent authorities
in the Kingdom of The Netherlands are now agreed that the simplified procedure described
in the points of understanding laid down in the abovementioned Note with regard to
Aruba, shall henceforth apply also to the issuance of political risk insurance by
OPIC for US business enterprises undertaking activities in the Netherlands Antilles,
in the same manner and under the same conditions as for Aruba (including the possible
re-evaluation of this procedure after a period of one year), to wit:
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– OPIC will request approval for each individual activity by submitting the usual information
on the project in question simultaneously to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The
Hague and to the Government of the Netherlands Antilles in Willemstad;
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– If, within four weeks of the receipt of such request, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has not informed the US Embassy in The Hague that an objection exists to the project,
approval will be considered granted;
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– All other matters regarding the project may be dealt with directly between OPIC and
the Government of the Netherlands Antilles;
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– The efficacy of this simplified procedure will be evaluated by the competent authorities
in the Kingdom within a year of the date of this Note. Should they conclude that the
simplified procedure does not serve to further the economic development of the Netherlands
Antilles, the Kingdom may propose additional modifications to the approval procedure.
It is to be understood that the Government of the Netherlands cannot accept that its
approval from time to time, whether explicit or implicit, of an activity to be covered
by OPIC, should entail liability for possible damages under the Agreement for Economic Cooperation between the two States of July 2, 1948, as modified and amended, in excess of the
liability incumbent on the Netherlands by virtue of other rules of international law
which apply between the two States.
It is also to be understood that in the event of a disagreement regarding claims stemming
from the issuance of coverage, which disagreement presents a question of international
law that cannot be resolved through negotiations between the two governments, the
Netherlands Government and the United States Government will arbitrate their differences
before any arbitral tribunal mutually agreed upon or, in the event of a failure to
agree, before the International Court of Justice.
If, in the future, any improvements should be made in the simplified procedure already
applicable to Aruba, the Ministry reserves its right to request that such improvements
be made also in the procedure for the Netherlands Antilles, and vice-versa.
Embassy of the United States of America
