Colombians jump into 'diplomacy'

Without an embassy of their own, a group of Colombian expatriates have taken the initiative and started up their own consular services.

ABU DHABI // In the absence of a Colombian Embassy in the UAE, a group of Colombian expatriates have taken the initiative and started up their own consular services to promote relations between the two countries. An event that is being called an "Itinerant Consulate of Colombia" will be held today at the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi and tomorrow at the residence of Juanita Bell, the founder of the Pro-Colombia GCC group.

The unofficial consular sessions, which will include a registration of Colombian nationals living in the UAE, will be held from 8.30am to 1pm and from 2pm to 7pm on both days. Pro-Colombia GCC is made up of five core members representing the Colombian expatriate community in the Gulf region. One of the group's objectives is to see an official Colombian government presence established in the UAE. The group has determined that there are about 450 Colombian heads of families in the Emirates, but the country's total Colombian population could be as high as 1,000, because not all have registered as expatriate residents, according to Ms Bell. Most live in Dubai, and many are professionals working in the oil industry and in logistics, consultancy, construction, aviation, education and entertainment, she said.

Although many Colombians have been living in the Emirates for more than 17 years, they still have to travel to their country's embassy in Cairo or Beirut for passport renewals and other consular services. Consequently, Pro-Colombia GCC would welcome some level of official representation in the region, with accompanying services for nationals. "We are working towards this direction," Ms Bell said. "It could be an embassy, a consulate or, more importantly, a commercial office by the government of Colombia in the UAE.

"An embassy or a consulate would mean a lot to us," said Ms Bell, who works in public relations in Abu Dhabi, where she has lived for the last seven years. She could not say when Colombia might have diplomatic representation in the UAE but expected that an embassy or consulate in the country would initially serve the entire GCC region. Besides the more than 400 Colombians who have already registered as living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar each have about 100, and there are 22 in Bahrain, Ms Bell said.

In June 2007, Ms Bell and several compatriots established the Pro-Colombia GCC group. They gathered information about Colombia and the Emirates and drafted a formal petition to the Colombian government to promote bilateral relations in politics, culture, tourism and commerce. Selling Colombia to Emiratis is an important part of the group's mission. "We would like to open their eyes to the real image of Colombia, the positive things that we could offer and identify the synergies between the two countries," Ms Bell said.

The group set up a web page, www.colombia-arabia.com, to educate Colombian expatriates in the region about its objectives, accomplishments and future projects. More information about the Itinerant Consulate of Colombia is available by e-mailing [e-mail] or by calling 050-720-6629. [e-mail]