Ecuador presented its investment portfolio in the last official visit that President Guillermo Lasso made to Israel. One of the secretaries commented on some of the results in terms of trade and investment
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The Galapagos Islands have a volcanic origin. (Photo: EFE/Daniel Fitter/File)
The technical secretary of Public-Private Partnerships and Delegated Management of Ecuador, Roberto Salas, highlighted the cooperation agreements reached with Israel related with investment and trade between both nations. Ecuador and Israel already maintain a trade relationship. Annually, the Andean country sells about USD 9 million to Israel and imports from that nation about USD 30 million.
The opportunities for trade, investment and entrepreneurship are the result of the visit that Guillermo Lasso and a delegation of Ecuadorian authorities made to Israel. An Open for Business was held in that country, a fair where Ecuador shows its investment portfolio and in which representatives of 120 Israeli and 80 Ecuadorian companies participated.
According to Salas, there is the possibility that Israel, through its companies, invest in non-conventional energy generation and gas. Even, commented Salas, there is a company that is interested in generating geothermal electricity through the volcanoes of the Galapagos Islands. If materialized, this investment would represent at least USD 200 million.
Regarding gas production, according to El Universo, Salas highlighted that Israel has advanced knowledge in this matter and that there are several companies interested in the field of Friendship, which produces natural gas in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The secretary also indicated that there are Israeli companies interested in participating in irrigation projects with the decentralized autonomous governments of Ecuador.
The transfer of technology for health is also another issue that interests both nations. In the event of cooperation, said Salas, it would be done through concessions or purchases.
One of the commercial results of the official trip made by President Guillermo Lasso together with several ministers was the signing of a memorandum of understandingbetween both nations with the aim of reaching a free trade agreement.< /p>
As announced by the Minister of Production, Julio José Prado,On its Twitter account, the country wants to begin negotiations to sign a trade agreement with Israel: “We seek an FTA with Israel. We have just signed the beginning of the “Joint Committee of Trade” -Comite Comite de Comercio- that will define the agenda to achieve a trade agreement with Israel. I also had an excellent meeting with the Minister of Economy and Industries”. In addition, according to the Ecuadorian minister, with the signing of the memorandum of understanding, both countries committed to promoting the exchange of specialized knowledge, the identification of investment opportunities and the promotion of commercial alliances.
In 2021, non-oil trade between Ecuador and Israel left a negative balance of USD 24 million for the Latin American nation, since imports were greater than exports. The latter reached USD 8 million in 2021, 19% more than in 2020. With these figures, Israel became the 61st destination for Ecuador’s non-oil trade. This market contains around 40 exported products such as hearts of palm, canned fruits and vegetables, cereals and fruits.
Minister Prado has The objective is to achieve 12 free trade agreements in the following three years, including the treaty with China, Korea, India and now with Israel, as Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín explained in an interview with Infobae. Currently, Ecuador is in the last round of negotiations with Mexico to sign a trade agreement that will allow it to join the Pacific Alliance.
For the Foreign Minister , “the important thing is that this concept of “having more Ecuador in the world and more world in Ecuador” has to be reflected with each free trade agreement being beneficial for our citizens, we have seen it with the example of the free trade agreement trade with Europe, where Ecuador has a favorable balance. It can also be seen in the opportunities we have with China… The line of our trade agreements is one of the five axes of this Foreign Ministry and the work of foreign policy is to accompany and complement it in the political moments that are required, especially”. p>