Global inflationary pressures stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict will pose a major policy challenge for Curaçao's government. However, Mr Pisas will continue to focus in the near term on reviving the economy in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, which dealt a heavy blow to tourism. A recovery will depend on global tourism returning to pre-pandemic levels; on June 5th all pandemic-related measures were lifted for incoming international travellers, which we expect will support a strong, if partial, recovery in tourist arrivals in 2022. However, the vaccination rate appears to have plateaued; as at early June just under 70% of the population had received two doses (less than 1 percentage point higher than in March). This will keep the island vulnerable to any future, potentially more virulent, variants of the virus; as such, the possibility of restrictions being reimposed at some point cannot be ruled out.

Other items on the government's policy agenda include boosting production and exports by diversifying the economy; improving public-sector efficiency and tax collection; strengthening and expanding tourism; increasing alternative energy generation; developing a second port at Vaersenbaai Noord; and improving co-operation with the other Dutch Caribbean islands. However, Curaçao's scope for undertaking recovery measures will depend on the level of Dutch financing that it manages to secure. One item on the agenda that has made significant progress is the resumption of operations at the Isla refinery and the Bullen Bay Oil Terminal. In April the state-run refining company, Refineria di Korsou (RdK), stated that it planned to announce an operator by mid-year, having received proposals from three companies. Those facilities were being operated by PDVSA (the Venezuelan state-owned oil firm), but the lease expired in 2019. Although there are risks of delays, operations are likely to restart before the end of the year.