France ratifies first legal border treaty for Saint Martin island

France's parliament on Thursday ratified an agreement with the Netherlands that legally defines the border on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin for the first time, nearly 400 years after the island was divided between the two countries, Report informs.

The treaty formalizes a boundary that had existed in practice since France and the Netherlands agreed to split the island in 1648 but had never been legally demarcated.

The agreement, signed in May 2023 after several years of negotiations, establishes the precise route of the land border between the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin and Sint Maarten, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The treaty must still be ratified by the Dutch parliament before it can enter into force.

France and the Netherlands have also been strengthening practical cooperation on security around the island. In March, the two countries signed a separate agreement allowing French maritime authorities and the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard to conduct cross-border pursuit operations in territorial waters surrounding the island, with the aim of improving efforts to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean.