St Maarten will maintain close relations with the Netherlands, which will remain responsible for its foreign policy and defence. The government has also vowed to strengthen ties with St Martin, the northern French part of the island, and to build close relations with Aruba and Curaçao, the other two independent Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In December the prime minister, Sarah Wescot-Williams, participated in a meeting on regional co-operation and development with her counterparts from Aruba and Curaçao. Reflecting its growing integration into the region, St Maarten became a member of the Parlamento Latinoamericano (Parlatino, the Latin American Parliament) shortly following independence.