Ecuador has requested the inclusion of the artisanal fishing sector in cooperation schemes with the United States to increase its security. This happened during the trade agenda that the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, Sonsoles García, held this week in Washington, United States.

The request was presented during a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which analyzed the progress of hemispheric integration initiatives, such as the Association of America for Economic Prosperity, and the broad agenda being advanced by the two countries. .

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According to official data, there are about 414 artisanal fishing organizations in Ecuador, which gather 28,510 fishermen and 11,612 registered vessels.

In the meantime, the minister’s agenda included high-level meetings with the Government, businessmen and investors, to whom she presented the program that Ecuador will promote in order to progress towards a productive economy.

García held a productive meeting with United States Trade Representative (USTR), Katherine Tai, during which they discussed bilateral trade relations. At this meeting, it was decided that the Ecuador-American Council for Trade and Investment. (TIC) will meet in Quito during the first half of next year, with the aim of strengthening and deepening economic and trade relations between the two nations.

The Trade and Investment Council was established in 1990 and updated in 2021 with the Protocol on Trade Rules and Transparency. The agreement includes high-level provisions on customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, the fight against corruption and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises.