JEDDAH, 24 November 2006 — Gerard Russell, at the age of 33, is in his own words, “Younger than I look...”
He is the recently arrived British consul general in Jeddah. First impressions are of an engagingly informal, quiet and academic man with an intense gaze when listening. From an academic background — his parents were both doctors and he read Classics at Oxford — he is an immensely sociable man; 14 nephews and nieces, he says, gave him invaluable training.
He is one of the new generation of diplomats who, he says, are the result of a focus by the UK Foreign Office on management and commercial competence.
Once there was, he said, “a stream of political people who focused on political work and might never go near a consulate or visa office — they would go through major embassies in the hope of becoming a major ambassador, never having dealt with the management of consular issues.” Times have changed. He thought that the Foreign Office nowadays very much wanted to emphasize the need for people to go for management, consular and visa experience so that they can be fully rounded. “This really is a core point of what the Foreign Office does.”
With a remarkable command of colloquial Arabic which he learned at 22 “because I was enthused with the idea and interested in the rich culture and literature of the Arab world,” he wants to characterize his tenure with informality and efficiency. Arabic, he cheerfully admits, is not an easy language to learn. “But I do love it. It has a tremendous beauty and an intellectual appeal because of the way it’s structured, so unlike English.” There is a tremendous logic that makes it all fit together. “I find that very appealing; and, of course, it has a tremendous body of culture and literature. It offers a sense of history.”
Russell is not new to the Middle East. Eleven years with the Foreign Office have seen him either in or dealing with the affairs of the Middle East. Posted to the Baghdad Embassy, he spent over a year dealing with the complex politics of the emerging Iraq government, working very closely with the government and the Prime Minister’s Office. “Young as I may be, if you measure it in years, or indeed as a percentage of your life, it’s a long time: Ninety percent of my professional life.”
There have been challenging moments — the sort that put iron in the soul. When his facility with Arabic and knowledge of the area came to light in the more rarefied strata of the UK government, he was delegated to appear on Al-Jazeera television commenting in Arabic. Enquiring whether he had a week or two to prepare before he began, the reply was, “Well, today, actually.”
He expects to be busy with the 4,000-plus British community with an increase in activity through Haj. The UK sends delegations to assist UK pilgrims with medical and consular matters and access the appropriate services when needed.
A major function of any consul-general — Russell puts it at about 40 percent — is to attend to the business activities of the community. The UK Consulate has a large Department of Trade and Industry section with six specialist staff. “We see the Kingdom as an emerging market, one of six or seven countries that we focus on.”
There is a great deal of opportunity, he said. Already there is $11 billion of investment from the UK in the Kingdom. “There is a boom now and renewed interest from Britain and British businesses investing here. I think after seeing a slight dip in the UK community — we are now experiencing a resurgence in numbers.”
There were, he said, 150 joint ventures currently under way in the Kingdom in a wide range of sectors. “Interest in public private partnerships is something that has really taken off,” he said. “The UK has a special area of skill in the issues relating to getting public and private sectors working together for the benefit of both.”
Russell said that this was particularly important in the Kingdom and there was a lot of interest from the Saudis in listening to the British experience. “We believe there is a lot of experience that British industries can share and we want our market share.”
The strong relationships between Saudi Arabia and the UK have resulted in a steady flow of Saudis to Britain for educational, business and vacation purposes. “Over the last year for example,” he said, “there has been a 17 percent increase in visas. I find that tremendously encouraging.”
A large part of consular work is ensuring that visas are granted efficiently. “Ninety-five percent of applicants get their visas within 24 hours,” he said. “That’s a good rate and I want to maintain that.” He said that there were plans to outsource a large part of the process to courier companies so that applicants could apply for and obtain visas without having to visit the consulate.
Interest in learning English language, he thought, was often the driver behind the visa applications. He was keen to highlight that the British Council, closed for a period during recent conflicts in Iraq, had reopened. “It’s there and active 12 hours a day and I want to see it grow.” He sees the council as a positive way to teach and spread culture both ways.
He was at pains to emphasize that over the next three years or so the consulate should grow its already good contacts with Saudi Arabia. “It’s a culture I have lived with and have spent much of my life with so I want to develop this place so that we have a network of friends among the local community.”
He feels that the job has a very broad brief. “It gives me exposure to all sorts of people; it’s a very social job. Other jobs I have had, have been very political and intellectual — this has broader scope and offers a broadening experience. That’s very interesting for me.”
In terms of politics, always in the consular mix even if indirectly, Russell has the background and the knowledge. It is not something however that he intends to spend a lot of time on. “To be really honest, this job is not a very political job and that is good. I want to expand and get into other things,” he said.
It was true though that people wanted to talk about Iraq and the Middle East peace process and he has had a lot of first-hand experience with both. His posting in Jerusalem for three years allowed him to engage with the Palestinian authorities and the peace process at first hand. “I have been with the people and a lot of these things are very well-known to me. So it’s not just a question of the big political issues, it’s also very human.”
That he felt was closely linked to his job and drew people’s attention. “Not many people have lived in Iraq and come out and talked about it. It was a wonderfully interesting experience while at the same time it’s a very tragic place with a lot of suffering.”
