The Consular Corps Accredited in the Dominican Republic (CC) held its annual assembly and election to select a new council to lead the agency in the period 2023-2025, chaired by Dean Fernando González Nicolás, who is the honorary consul of Malaysia in the country.
Speaking at the ceremony held at the Czech Republic consulate, on Anacaona Avenue, González Nicolás highlighted the strengthening of the CC in its 70 years of existence and the role played by the consuls accredited in the Dominican Republic in attracting investment and trade opportunities from their respective countries.
He said that consuls are the gateway to the economic, political, social and cultural aspects of their respective countries.
The new board of directors is also composed of consuls Ricardo Koenig, of Antigua and Barbuda, vice dean; Norman de Castro, from South Africa, secretary; Gustavo Vega, from Poland, deputy secretary; Maria Jose Turull of Thailand, treasurer, and Emilio Hasbun of Barbados, vice-treasurer.
Also, as members the consuls Juan Barceló Salas, of Belarus; Arturo Villanueva, from Romania, Tomás González, from Kazakhstan, Collin Holdich, from Canada, Raíza Rodríguez, from Paraguay, Paulo Alves, from Portugal and Margarita de los Santos, from Malta.
Also, the consuls Joan González, of Malta, liaison of the Eastern region; Tácito Cordero, from Brazil, from the Northern Zone; Sixto Inchaustegui, from Montenegro, director of international relations, and advisors are Maireni Bournigal, from Norway; Marcos Rivera, from Bolívar, and Muriel Alfonseca, from Sri Lanka.
About the new dean
González Nicolás has been consul of several countries, he has acted as consul of Malaysia since 2015, and he was also consul of India and vice-consul of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In 1996 he was distinguished as a Member of the British Empire, MBE, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Head of the Commonwealth Countries.
About the Consular Corps and the Consuls
The Consular Corps accredited in the Dominican Republic was created on December 9, 1952, through a constituent assembly by the consuls or those in charge of consular affairs José Luis Cossio, of Peru; Ramón Martínez Hernández, from Norway; Alfredo Pérez Castillo, from Venezuela, and Pedro Buñol Garrido, from Nicaragua.
This institution brings together the representatives of the countries that have diplomatic relations in the Dominican Republic, with the aim of reaffirming and strengthening the links between the government, its authorities and the Consular Corps.
The consul is a position of a state to exercise functions abroad, of the foreign service of a country, of a political nature, of information and administered propaganda, customs, notarial and political registration.
It is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations or Foreign Affairs that instructs the consul to assist its citizens of the country of origin in tasks such as official processing and legalization, guidance for judicial defenses, if necessary, powers of attorney, proof of life, certificates accrediting nationality, granting and renewing passports, processing national identity documents of their country.
Some of the consular functions have a notarial character, or of public faith and their signature is also equivalent to that of a notary, qualified to fulfill even the functions of a sworn translator (also called certified translator or expert translator). The exercise in charge is governed by the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Source:
Noticentro