The Corps of Honorary Consuls of Georgia (CHCG) was established in Tbilisi by the country’s honorary consuls from all over the world, who flew to the capital to attend Georgia’s official Independence Day celebration on May 26 and to hold meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies.
The objective of the honorary consuls, who are appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is to assist the Georgian government in the promotion and protection of its interests and the welfare of its citizens in their respective countries. The CHCG is the first organization of its kind in Georgian history and one of the newest consular corps in the world.
In a series of extensive consultations and meetings, Consul (a.h.) Thelmo Cunanan Jr from the Philippines was unanimously elected by a quorum of honorary consuls as the CHCG’s first and founding dean. The group included representatives from Denmark, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovakia, Iceland, Netherlands, and India. “I wish to thank my colleagues for electing me their first and founding dean. I am truly humbled by this great honor to lead my esteemed fellow honorary consuls at this special moment in Georgian foreign affairs. The CHCG will harness the strengths of its members to improve Georgia’s relations with the world,” said Consul Cunanan, addressing Foreign Ministry officials, which included Minister Tamar Beruchashvili. “We are a young organization and we will be reaching out to sister-corps in other countries for collaboration, starting with the Consular Corps of the Philippines and International Federation of Consular Corps and Associations (FICAC).”
The creation of the CHCG comes at a very important time in Georgia’s history. In 2016, the country will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its formal diplomatic relations with many nations. In this regard, the CHCG is planning to undertake projects that will celebrate and promote its member-countries’ relations with Georgia.
“Next year is a very auspicious event for Georgia and our own countries. In the spirit of friendship, we would like to give back to Georgia, to do something special for this country that we love,” said Consul (a.h.) Manuel Luis Marinho Da Silva of Portugal. “Our meeting here in Tbilisi was very productive and resulted in the creation of the world’s newest Corps Consulaire. We will be strengthening our group and holding real and virtual meetings to prepare for next year,” added Consul (a.h.) Marianne Bols from Denmark.
Consul Cunanan is currently travelling in the Caucasus and Western Europe to hold dialogues with stakeholders and partner-organizations, in preparation for the CHCG’s 2016 projects.