Ecuador’s interest in opening an embassy in Portugal

Non-oil trade between Ecuador and Portugal has been favorable for the country in US$54 million between January and July this year: US$68 million were collected for exports, and US$16 million were paid for imports.

In 2021, exports reached US$82 million, which meant an increase of 40% compared to 2020, according to figures from the National Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor).

The government of Guillermo Lasso seeks to strengthen its presence in that European market.

Therefore, in the framework of the visit he made this week to New York, United States, for the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), the president held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, with whom he discussed investments and foreign trade between the two countries.

Lasso announced that an Ecuadorian embassy would be opened in Portugal and spoke of the need for an air connection between Lisbon and Quito to promote tourism, the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency (Segcom) informed.

Ecuador does not currently have a fixed embassy in that nation but a concurrent embassy: the head of the mission for the United Kingdom is also in charge of diplomatic relations with Portugal and Ireland.

The Foreign Ministry’s website indicates that there is only an honorary consulate in Porto at the moment.

According to Fedexpor, Portugal became the ninth destination market for the country’s non-oil exports within the European Union (EU), a bloc with which there has been a trade agreement for five years. Currently, this market receives 61 Ecuadorian products.

The main export products to that country are:

1. Fishery products and crustaceans, with sales of US$26 million until last July;
2. Canned tuna, US$23 million;
3. Shrimp, US$20 million;
4. Bananas and plantains, US$5 million;
5. Flowers, US$5 million.

According to Fedexpor, 97% of non-oil exports are concentrated in these countries. In addition, more than 205 companies are linked to exports to this country.

Regarding imports, the main items purchased from this country are pharmaceutical products, paper and cardboard, iron and steel, machinery and mechanical appliances, and plastic.

The first five products concentrate 57% of non-oil imports.

Likewise, the Ministry of Government reports the arrival of 1,486 people from that country between January and August: 847 came for tourism, 237 for residence, 118 to attend an event, and 72 to do business. In 2021, 1,258 arrived and in 2020, 1,017.

Former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos Estarellas points out several considerations that governments consider when opening embassies:

The historical relationship, culture, trade, and whether or not the other nation has a diplomatic mission, in attention to the principle of reciprocity.

“If all this does not exist, itinerant embassies can be opened,” he explains.

Foreign trade expert Oswaldo Landázuri points out that exports to Portugal are not “the bulk” of non-oil sales.

That is why he believes that the president’s announcement is “another example of the erratic management of the government in every sense, and foreign trade is part of it.

He went to Uruguay to say that we should sign a trade agreement when we already had one with Mercosur, and on the other hand, he offered that meat and dairy products would be imported.

It seems he met with the president of Portugal, and that is where the idea came from.”

“We already have a trade agreement with the European Union, and they act very much as a block; general rules govern them. Therefore, the strengthening of the commercial relationship should be done through that way,” he indicates.

El Universo requested information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the process of creation of the embassy and the appointment of the ambassador, but they indicated that they would have more details on the subject after the return of Minister Juan Carlos Holguin to the country; he was part of the delegation that accompanied Lasso to New York.

With information from El Universo