Consular Outreach event in Guayaquil with local authorities
As part of our country-wide consular outreach programme, a member of the consular team visited Guayaquil for meetings with key local authorities
Consular Outreach 2015
On Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th January, Pro Consul Annika Dann visited Guayaquil, accompanied by Honorary Vice Consul in Guayaquil Maria Fatima Rocio Torres, to make personal contact with key local authorities in the areas of risk management, crisis response and safe tourism.
On Monday 26th, the consular team visited the ECU-911 Samborondon emergency response centre, took part in a tour of the facilities and met with senior staff members, in order to strengthen the Embassy’s relationship with this important and innovative institution. The Embassy took this opportunity to congratulate the ECU-911 Samborondon team for their excellent work in emergency response and their recent assistance with a consular case, in which the Embassy was instantly notified by ECU-911 staff. On Tuesday 27th, the British Embassy invited a wide range of key local authorities to take part in a meeting at the Corporación de Seguridad Ciudadana in Guayaquil. This began with a presentation by consular staff explaining our consular assistance policies for citizens in Ecuador, travel safety preventative campaign and crisis preparedness, and the importance of coordinating actions with the local authorities in the event of an emergency. Attendance was excellent with representatives from the Fire Service, Armed Forces, Chamber of Tourism, local Council, Red Cross, Guayaquil Bus Terminal, a number of main airlines, and the Ministries of Tourism, Interior (immigration) and the National Risk Control Agency (SNGR), among others. The event was an important way of introducing the consular team in Quito to the Guayas local authorities, and also explaining the role of our Honorary Consulate in Guayaquil, introducing the Honorary Vice Consul, and discussing ways in which the Embassy can work more effectively with Ecuadorean authorities in the event of a crisis or consular case. The team showed the participants our “Ecuador transport safety” preventative video, launched last year, which has minimised robbery incidents in interstate buses and taxis by advertising the new “transporte seguro” project. The information was well received and followed by a lively question and answer session. It was very encouraging to see the willingness of the local authorities to collaborate with the Embassy in the distribution of consular prevention materials for tourists, and continue working together in the areas of travel safety and prevention.