Honorary consul Alain Sobol in Sharm el-Sheikh: the point of contact for Belgian tourists

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Photo of a beach with numerous parasols. In the background the Red Sea and in the foreground a rock

El Fanar Beach in Sharm El Sheikh. Belgian tourists who encounter problems there can contact honorary consul Alain Sobol (© Getty Images).

During the high season, some 500 Belgian citizens arrive weekly in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. If they run into trouble – losing a passport or ID, getting into an accident... – they can always turn to Belgian honorary consul Alain Sobol, who is also the CEO of a local diving school. He tells us his story.

Belgium has a network of some 300 honorary consuls. They are mainly placed in those areas where no Belgian embassy or professional consulate can be found in the wider area. Some have duties of a more economic nature, while others focus mainly on assisting Belgian citizens in their region. The latter is certainly the case in busy tourist centres.
 

The diving bug


Alain Sobol has been honorary consul for our country in Sharm el-Sheikh since 2006. The calm and clear waters of the Red Sea make this resort on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula a popular diving destination and Belgians too appreciate this place. During the high season, two or sometimes three planes arrive from Belgium every week, which amounts to about 500 compatriots every week.

Sobol also caught the diving bug and this was precisely why he settled in Sharm el-Sheikh. "I came here for the first time in 1972 and stayed for a year," he says, "because my father had founded a deep-sea diving club here."

He then returned to Belgium to run a diving store, but he did travel back to Sharm el-Sheikh regularly with a group of divers. In 1978, Egypt and Israel concluded the Camp David Accords: Israel returned Sinai to Egypt in 1982. "My father had learned through his contacts that the Egyptian government wanted to develop Sharm el-Sheikh into a tourist attraction and was therefore looking for diving experts," explains Sobol. "That's when I founded the Red Sea Diving College there in 1982."

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Photo of honorary consul Alain Sobol diving in the Red Sea among corals and fish

Diver and honorary consul Alain Sobol in the Red Sea (© Alain Sobol).

Honorary consul


He had good contacts with the Belgian embassy in Cairo from the outset. "That happened in a very convivial atmosphere. In fact, embassy staff at that time regularly came to Sharm el-Sheikh themselves for diving or beach holidays. I was even married by the ambassador at the embassy, I believe I was the only one ever!"

This smooth relationship led to regular calls from the embassy with a question. "That's how I grew to become the connecting link between Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo. In 2006, the embassy asked if I wanted to become an honorary consul. I accepted and the Egyptian authorities – who have to agree – also saw no harm in it."
 

7 days a week


All in all, his official status as honorary consul did not change much in practice. "Except now I had an obligation to deal with the situation." And for Sobol, that means primarily assisting Belgian tourists. "It's mostly about tourists who have lost their passport or ID and for whom we issue a temporary passport after approval by the embassy."

The website of the Belgian embassy in Cairo lists the phone number and email address of the honorary consulate in Sharm el-Sheikh. "We are available to Belgians 7 days a week," Sobol explains. "These days, I turn off my phone when I go to sleep around midnight, but I also have an assistant who takes on some of the duties of the honorary consulate."
 

First point of contact


And the emails are pouring in. "These tend to be questions like 'is it safe in Sharm el-Sheikh?' In addition, we also receive many questions that rather concern the embassy, such as concerning the procedures for a marriage in Egypt." 

Of course, unpleasant incidents also take place, but fortunately they remain the minority. "It sometimes happens that a Belgian runs into trouble with the police. And a murder has also happened once. Unfortunately, I sometimes have to deal with a death – in a traffic accident or while diving. In all these matters, I am the first point of contact, but the embassy is responsible for arrangements such as the repatriation of a body and notifying the family. I act as an intermediary. Therefore, if something happens to a Belgian tourist, the tour operator knows where to find me. I call the embassy and report the problem, they decide how to handle it. I am, in fact, often the first point of contact."
 

Take it in your stride


People do not always understand that the practical arrangements themselves are not part of the honorary consul's duties; it is, incidentally, an unpaid position, basically volunteer work. "Once before, a woman was hospitalised and her husband wanted wrap things up quickly – but as an honorary consul, there's not much you can do, and he has a go at you for that. Well, you just take it in your stride."

Also if a serious crisis were to occur, Sobol, as honorary consul, is the first point of contact. "And we've already had our share here: the Arab Spring, a plane that exploded, terrorist attacks, tourists attacked by sharks ... It's not a long quiet river here."

When the UN COP27 climate conference took place in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2023, he had some preparatory duties as honorary consul. But during the summit itself, the reinforced team from the embassy in Cairo took over. "I did enjoy a few glasses at my leisure then with the ambassador," he says, laughing.
 

A reputation


Sobol has no economic or political duties. However, he does maintain good contacts with local Egyptian authorities, especially at the municipal level. "They call me regularly when they need something, and these contacts are certainly useful, for example, when a Belgian citizen has been imprisoned. Then no one from the embassy in Cairo needs to come here. The embassy also once asked me to request a police report of an accident."

As mentioned, Belgium's honorary consuls perform their duties without remuneration. "I certainly don't get a penny for it; on the contrary, I invest in it. For example, my assistant – who I pay – takes on some of the duties of the honorary consulate. And the few temporary passports I issue – for which I receive a fee – will not make any difference. In 2007, I was decorated as an officer in the Order of Leopold II."

So why does he do it? "Out of habit and to help people. But maybe mostly because it gives me a good reputation here. It means I maintain good contacts with the government, and that can always be useful." How much time he spends on the job, he cannot say. "It varies considerably. Sometimes there are no tasks at hand, sometimes I have a lot on my plate."
 

Useful and necessary


He does not have much contact with the other two Belgian honorary consuls in Egypt – in Alexandria and Hurghada. Things have also been calmer lately with the embassy in Cairo. "We are, of course, invited to events on 21 July and 15 November. But they currently have their hands full with the wars in Gaza and Sudan. Communication happens very smoothly through WhatsApp these days."

He does maintain regular contact with the other foreign honorary consuls in Sharm el-Sheikh, however. "There are five here. Besides myself, there is a British, a French, an Italian and a Russian honorary consul. Germany, for example – a large country after all – has none. So, a German tourist in trouble should contact his embassy in Cairo."

Therefore, a position as honorary consul is really useful and necessary. As the first point of contact, he provides immediate, local support for Belgians when they have a problem. And surely that gives much more reassurance and allows for faster action to be taken than if they had to call or email the Belgian embassy in Cairo, which is far away.

Alain Sobol is currently 75 years old, so he can normally stay on for another five years. "So, I'm quietly carrying on, so far they haven't contacted me asking me to quit," he says with a laugh. "Besides, I really don’t know anyone who could replace me immediately."