Honduran officials in Cayman to discuss trade and new consulate office Loop Cayman Islands

Black Immigrant Daily News

A visiting Honduran delegation addressed a large gathering of residents last night (August 25, 2022) at Constitutional Hall in George Town. Included in the delegation were Mr Antonio Garc?a, Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Honduras (Consular and Immigration Affairs) and Mr Max Rodriguez, Advisor and Coordinator of the Office of the Undersecretary of Immigration Consular Affairs, who shared plans for the establishment of a Honduran consulate office in Cayman to process passports and identification documents for Hondurans working and living in Cayman. In addition, the Honduran officials touched on the topic of trade between Honduras and Cayman.

Consulate office

Speaking of the concerns raised by Hondurans living in Cayman, Mr Garcia said he knew that many Hondurans living in Cayman have expressed problems they are having with their expired passports and the cost and time it takes to travel to Honduras to have documents processed. According to Mr Garcia, the establishment of a Honduras consulate office in Cayman would help to resolve these issues.

The announcement was welcomed by Mrs Mercy Watler (a businesswoman who is Honduran by birth and who is married to Caymanian, Mr Julian Watler), who explained to Loop News the complexities of the official document renewal process in the absence of a Honduran consulate in Cayman.

[Without a Honduran consulate in Cayman], it would take me about a week to get things sorted out in Honduras. But, these days, I don’t have a week to spend overseas as I have a business here in Cayman. The other complication is that Honduran authorities require originals, including affidavits, which takes time to organise.

Mrs Watler shared.

Mrs Mercy Watler, businesswoman

By establishing a mobile consular agent or temporary consulate office (visiting periodically) or a permanent consulate office, Mr Garcia hopes to reduce the processing times, bureaucracy and expenses for Hondurans living in Cayman.

Trade

In addition to the creation of a Honduran consulate office in Cayman, Mr Garcia spoke of the possibility of trade between Honduras and the Cayman Islands. Mr Garcia indicated that, logically, direct trade makes sense after comparing this to the process of indirect trade that is currently in place.

In particular, Mr Garcia said:

Many products from Honduras go to Miami and then come to Cayman. [And] they tell me that a pineapple costs eight dollars in Cayman, but this only a few Lempiras in Honduras.

What Mr Garcia was drawing our attention to here is that, not only could direct trade reduce some of the importation cost and ultimate prices on Cayman shelves, but the products that we have on our shelves may have a longer shelf life, having avoided waiting times in the United States prior to shipment to Cayman. This is also the same point made by Minister of Agriculture, Jay Ebanks, who recently went on a fact-finding mission to Honduras to consider direct trade relations between Cayman and Honduras, the objective of which was all of the foregoing mentioned by Mr Garcia, plus Ebanks’ hope to reduce the high cost of living facing Cayman residents.

What’s next?

Mr Garcia noted that, while the discussions of the expansion of direct trade relations between Honduras and the Cayman Islands are ongoing, the next step for the establishment of a Honduran consulate in Cayman would be for a local committee (consisting of Kerry Bennett Rodriguez, Sophia Dixon Tatum, Mandy Mann Stewart, Marco Duarte Ezekiel, Bethy Sabillion Alvarenga and Emmanuel Escalante Alas) to gather names, identification and contact information for Hondurans working and living in Cayman. This information would, of course, be kept confidential and be subject to the normal requirements under Cayman’s Data Protection Act, which requires persons processing or otherwise using personal data to obtain the consent of those providing it.

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