Ecuador and the Dominican Republic have begun the negotiation process for a partial trade agreement. After this Wednesday, November 15, the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador, Daniel Legarda, and his counterpart from that Caribbean country, Víctor Bisoño, signed a Memorandum announcing the start of negotiations between the two nations. , with the presence of the foreign ministers of both nations, Gustavo Manrique and Juan José Portoreal.

With this, she from the Dominican Republic joins future agreements that could be finalized together with that of Canada, which is also in the negotiation phase after completing internal consultations in that North American country in April last year. In addition, Ecuador has already concluded other agreements with Costa Rica, China and South Korea, although with the latter the final signature is expected in the coming weeks.

Canada and Ecuador have agreed to begin the process for a trade agreement

Meanwhile, the current trade between the Dominican Republic and Ecuador is 140 million dollars, proving a continuous growth in recent years, according to a report from the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries.

The state portfolio explained that the memorandum signed with the Dominican Republic lays the groundwork for the technical teams of both sides to agree on the scope, methods, modalities and schedule of future negotiations. The central objective is to promote economic integration and complementarity between Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. The objective of the bilateral framework to be established is to promote the expansion and diversification of the commercial exchange of goods and services, as well as the strengthening of trade cooperation and economic complementarity.

At the meeting, Minister Daniel Legarda praised the efforts of the technical teams that made it possible to achieve this milestone. “We are convinced that working together will result in a balanced trade agreement that will benefit the two brotherly countries and enable greater integration,” he pointed out.

Likewise, Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Gustavo Manrique, pointed out that, within the framework of excellent bilateral relations, the future agreement will promote commercial exchange, investment and productive connectivity. In this sense, he expressed the desire to define a road map “that will enable, in the short term, the progress of the negotiations and the subsequent signing of the agreement”.

The Ecuadorian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce approaches with the benches of the new assembly for the ratification of the trade agreement

The ministers highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations and emphasized that this partial trade agreement will be the first between the Dominican Republic and a South American country.

In the meantime, the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, pointed out that since the first day the Government has focused on the implementation and strengthening of Ecuador’s foreign trade policy, and he thanked his colleague from the Dominican Republic. Luis Abinader.

“Today we are signing an instrument to begin negotiations on a Partial Scope Agreement with the Dominican Republic, making us the first country in South America to have a trade agreement of this nature with a Caribbean country. The Dominican Republic will join the trade agreements we already have with China, South Korea and Costa Rica. These instruments will promote commercial exchange, investment and productive chaining,” said Lasso.