Gallery – 2025 – Louisiana Consular Corps

On December 17th, His Excellency Francisco Duarte Lopes, Ambassador of Portugal to the United States, visited New Orleans.

The Ambassador attended a roundtable discussion with local business leaders, GNO, Inc., and the World Trade Center. It was noted that Portugal was the first European country to receive Louisiana LNG marking a milestone in our bilateral trade relationship. We hope to continuing this dialogue and exploring new avenues for economic growth and collaboration between our countries.

December 17th also marked the occasion of the annual Louisiana Consular Corps Christmas gathering, held at the residence of Bill Hines, the Honorary Consul of Portugal in New Orleans. The event was attended by Portuguese Ambassador Lopes and his wife, by Mr. Carlos Moura, Director of Trade and Investment Commissioner of Portugal in New York, as well as by the Mayor-elect of New Orleans, Helena Moreno and her husband. Brennan’s catered the party making for a truly delicious and enjoyable holiday experience.

On December 5th, during our recent Luncheon at the Windsor Court, the Honorable Drew Dainer, Deputy Consul-General of Australia was our guest speaker.

Louisiana is currently Australia’s top investment partner in the U.S., and the Deputy Consul-General Dainer spoke about how they will continue to grow this important trade and investment relationship. Louisiana is now home to Woodside of Australia, which has over 35 years of experience in the LNG industry, including pioneering Australia’s LNG industry.

Drew Dainer – Deputy Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General Houston (covering Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas) Drew is a career diplomat with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

On July 17, 2025, the Hon. Maia Bartaia, Consul-General of the Republic of Georgia in New York City, visited New Orleans with a career Georgian Consul and met with Dean Emeritus of the Louisiana Consul Corps, the Hon. Bret A. Clesi, Honorary Consul-General of the Republic of Albania. During the meeting, the Republic of Georgia was invited to become a member of the Louisiana Consular Corps. Consul-General Bartaia and Honorary Consul-General Clesi also discussed building strong and concrete economic and cultural relationships between the State of Louisiana and the Republic of Georgia. Georgia’s viticulture industry is 3,000 years old and a perfect fit for Louisiana’s gastronomic culture. Consular Corps Dean, the Hon. William H. Hines, Honorary Consul of Portugal, will meet with Consul-General Bartaia when she returns to New Orleans later this year.

On June 27, we were honored by the presence of His Royal Highness, Prince Leka II, Crown Prince of the Albanians, as our guest and speaker at our luncheon.

Prince Leka was accompanied by Z Odin Libohova, Chancellor of the Royal House Orders. During lunch, there were exchanges of honors and, Prince Leka bestowed the Honorary Consul General of Albania, Bret Clesi the Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Scanderbeg.

Also, the Mayor’s office handed over a key to the city to the Crown Prince of the Albanians, and His Royal Highness also received recognition from the Governor’s office and the Lieutenant Governor’s office, the Parish of Jefferson, and the World Trade Center of New Orleans.

His Royal Highness talked about the progress in Albania, and how Balkans continue to be a fascinating part of Europe.

On May 12, our honored guest and speaker at the Consular Corps lunch meeting was the Honorable Sujeevan Sathesan, British Consul-General in Houston. His jurisdiction includes Louisiana, and the U.K. is the 4th largest trading partner for Louisiana. The United Kingdom is the ninth-largest trading partner with the U.S. He also spoke at length about the new trade deal, geopolitics and the war in Europe.

https://ustr.gov/map/state-benefits/la

On April 30, members of the Louisiana Consular Corps attended an opening at the New Orleans Museum of Art for “Nicolas Floc’h: Fleuves-Océan, Mississippi Watershed”

The exhibition at NOMA pairs vibrant monochromatic photographs of the color of water made under the surface with dramatic black-and-white landscape photographs along the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries.

“Nicolas Floc’h: Fleuves-Océan, Mississippi Watershed” is on view at NOMA through February 22, 2026.

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Sponsored by Villa Albertine, The Embassy of France and the Consulate General of France.

On April 25th the Consular Corps luncheon at the Windsor Court Hotel, our honored guest and speaker was His Excellency Ervin Bushati, the Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the United States.

Ambassador Bushati is the scion of a medieval Albanian family whose members have been leaders of the Albanian people for many centuries. Born in Shkoder, the ancient seat of the Bushati clan, Ambassador Bushati has traveled extensively representing Albania in many official capacities, including with the EU.

On April 20, New Orleans officially welcomed the French Navy ships Mistral and Surcouf in a ceremony with the Consular Corps and the City of New Orleans – a powerful reminder of the deep ties that unite France and Louisiana, across centuries and across oceans.

The exceptional reception aboard the Mistral was also proof of the longstanding friendship between our two countries.

On March 4, after the celebration of Mardi Gras, a stately formal ball takes place every year, and a very distinguished guest was presented the Rex decoration this year: namely His Excellency Laurent Bili, Ambassador of the French Republic to the U.S., accompanied at the ball by French Consul General of Louisiana Rodolphe Sambou.

The Consulate General of France in New Orleans, has an artist-in-residency program called Villa Albertine. The program aims to support artists, researchers, and cultural professionals, and to foster dialogue and exchange between French and American cultural institutions. Recently, the New Orleans Jazz Museum hosted a Villa Albertine Showcase, and it was a night of true celebration of artistic exchange and innovation.

More here; https://villa-albertine.org/va/map/new-orleans/

On March 3, 2025, Lundi Gras, was presided over by the mayor of New Orleans, marking the official start of Mardi Gras. The Louisiana Consular Corps and Deirdre McGlinchey, Vice Dean greeted Rex, the King of Carnival, up on stage by the Mississippi Riverfront in New Orleans.

On February 13, Japanese company UBE began construction on a $491 million facility in Waggaman to produce EV battery element. The facility is the first of its kind in the U.S., and the project is part of a broader statewide $2.4 billion investment in Louisiana’s EV materials industry.

More: https://www.nola.com/news/jefferson_parish/ube-construction-jefferson-parish-plant/article_d3b3e7e8-ea4e-11ef-8a09-0772d21e1af2.html

On February 13, the Louisiana Consular Corps were honored to have the Ambassador of the Cote d’Ivoire speak to us during our luncheon.

The presence of the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire, along with Rosine Pema Sanga from the Mayor’s office and the French Consul-General Rodolphe Sambou, made for a remarkable gathering. The ceremonial robe and hat gifted to former Dean Bret Clesi was definitely a memorable cultural exchange and a very meaningful interaction.

On January 28, the Consular Corps of Louisiana was delighted to invite international LLM Tulane students and faculty to our lunch meeting. Our honored guest and main speaker was the Irish Consul-General, Robert Hull.

Herbert V. Larson, Jr., Senior Professor of the Practice and Executive Director, International and Graduate Program of Tulane University School of Law and his colleague Vernon Palmer, who specializes in comparative law and European and French civil law, together with law students met with the 29 Consuls-General, Consuls, and Honorary Consuls in attendance.

Tulane’s Law School’s LLM and student exchange programs are amongst the oldest in the U.S. and extremely well regarded throughout the world. Tulane and its law and medical schools have been key sources of international relations for New Orleans since 1834.

Lastly, a new dean has been selected to lead the Louisiana Consular Corps and Bret Clesi, honorary consul general of the Republic of Albania who has done a fantastic job, handed over the gavel to Dean William H. Hines, honorary consul of Portugal.