The Catalan President asks the foreign consular corps for help to put Catalonia on the world map

Barcelona (ACN).- “Putting Catalonia on the world map” is one of the main objectives of the Catalan Government. That is what the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas,  said to the foreign consular corps in Barcelona today. In fact, Mas asked them to help the Catalan Government with this mission. “We are not a peripheral region of the Iberian Peninsular, we are Mediterranean people very committed to Europe”, vindicated Mas. He spoke about Catalan diverse society and how “a bit more than half” of the seven million of Catalonia’s inhabitants are people who were born or have their roots outside Catalonia. The dean of the Consulate Corps, Rocío Pichardo, agreed with Mas that people who settle down in Catalonia “have to embrace the Catalan dream”.

In the same line of thought, Artur Mas explained “what we want is to host foreign people with ideas and projects, hosting them well, and when they decide to definitely stay in this country, they embrace it; if they identify with the values that have build Catalonia along the centuries, they will also become Catalans”.

The Catalan President made an explicit petition to the foreign Consulate Corps: “I am asking you to help us put Catalonia on the world map. Bring us delegations from your countries. Ambassadors, ministers, government, businessmen, investments, etc.”. Mas emphasised the “modern and open” character of Catalonia, “a country of exchanges”, “small but open to the world”. “Wherever you go, you always find a Catalan”, he added.

Barcelona is one of the non-capital cities with more consulates in the world

With 99 registered foreign consulates, including the delegations from Quebec and Flanders, Barcelona is 1 of the 4 cities that are not an independent state capital with more consulates. The ranking is headed by New York, Hong Kong and Hamburg. According to the Catalan Government’s balance of its external action for the 2007-2010 period, new countries opened their representations in Barcelona, such as Turkey, Albania and Bosnia Herzegovina.