Haiti may open a consulate in Atlanta, a U.S.-based diplomat for the island nation told GlobalAtlanta.

"We're working on that," Gandy Thomas, a consul in Haiti's Orlando, Fla. consulate, said in a telephone interview.  

No date has been set for the opening of the consulate but it would likely be located in downtown Atlanta, Mr. Thomas said. "It's a long process to open a consulate," he added.

The consulate would offer passport and visa services and have a cultural and economic section, he said, adding that there are thousands of Haitians living in Georgia, most of them in the metro Atlanta area.

Haiti is a nation of about 9 million people, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Eighty percent of Haitians live below the poverty line and nearly half the population over age 15 is illiterate, according to the CIA World Fact Book.

The nation is rebuilding after a devastating earthquake in January.

A consulate in Atlanta would boost Haiti's economy by promoting increased trade with Georgia, said Saurel Quettan, spokesman for The Haitian Alliance Inc., an Atlanta nonprofit group.

"It would be a public relations and branding effort," he said.

Currently, more than 60 countries have full consulates, honorary consulates or trade offices in Georgia. Ireland and India have both announced plans to open full consulates here.

For more information on the Haitian Alliance, click here.

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