Restores 14th U.S. consulate after Katrina forced closure
The nation of Ecuador re-opened its consulate in New Orleans on Tuesday, serving about 10,000 Ecuadoreans living in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Ecuador's ambassador to the United States, Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga.There are about 1,000 Ecuadorean nationals living in the New Orleans area, a tiny percentage of the 1.5 million living in the U.S. But more than visas and other consular services for individuals, the country wanted to re-establish its presence in New Orleans because of its role in international commerce.
Ecuador's Ambassador to the United States, Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga, who came from Washington to inaugurate the new consulate, said the Port of New Orleans exports about $500 million in goods to Ecuador each year, making it the third largest origination point for products to Ecuador.
Gallegos said New Orleans supplies more goods to Ecuador than to other South American countries, like Chile and Argentina. Ecuador also provides $12 million worth of grains, vegetables, flowers and other goods to the U.S. each year through New Orleans.
Gallegos named Luis Quinones, a lawyer, as the consul general for New Orleans. Quinones said he's spent the last five months getting the office ready for business.
The offices, in Canal Place downtown, are the 14th full Ecuadorean consulate in the United States. New Orleans had a consul until 2006, but the office closed after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Ecuadorean citizens and businesses have had to go to Houston or Atlanta for consular services, and the Houston and Miami offices shared responsibility for Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Gallegos is scheduled to meet with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Wednesday. Gallegos said he wants to discuss how Ecuador can lend its expertise in environmental matters, among other issues. He said there are more species of birds in one square mile in Ecuador than in all of North America. Ecuador is also home to the Galapagos Islands, where unique species of animals have thrived for milennia and have been studied by generations of scientists.
Quinones said he wants to work toward developing a sister city relationship between New Orleans and an Ecuadorean city. The consul general will also be traveling soon to Arkansas, where the Hispanic population has mushroomed in the last decade.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest private company, is based in Bentonville, Ark., and its U.S. division, Wal-Mart Stores USA, is run by an Ecuadorean, Eduardo Castro-Wright.
Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Fierro, an Ecuadorean born U.S. citizen and cardiologist who has lived in New Orleans for 20 years, said he hopes the consulate will help bring direct flights between New Orleans and Ecuador's capital of Quito, as well as fostering more commerce between the countries.
Landrieu sent a representative, Valerie Matron, to welcome the ambassador. Speaking in Spanish, she told him that Landrieu was "very enthusiastic" about developing stronger ties between New Orleans and Ecuador.