The government of Nicaragua said Thursday it hopes the free trade agreement (FTA) signed with China will be a before and after for the Nicaraguan people.
“The signing of the Nicaragua-China Free Trade Agreement will be a before and after for the Nicaraguan people. It opens the doors to a huge market and will allow us to get in touch with the companies and entrepreneurs of this brother country,” explained Laureano Ortega Murillo. , son of Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, when referring to the agreement.
China today confirmed the formalization of the signing of the free trade agreement with Nicaragua in a virtual ceremony on Thursday.
Nicaragua was represented by Ortega Murillo, who is Presidential Advisor for the Promotion of Investment, Trade and International Cooperation; the Minister of Finance and Credit, Iván Acosta, and the Minister of Development, Industry and Trade, Jesús Bermúdez.
“We are convinced that this (free trade agreement) will bring economic and social benefits for Nicaraguan families, new investments, the creation of more jobs and the transfer of technology from China to Nicaragua,” the son of the Nicaraguan president continued.
He predicted that this trade agreement “will provide an opportunity for a stronger Chinese presence in Nicaragua” and opined that “Nicaragua should be viewed by China as a trading platform for the entire Central American region.”
He stressed that relations between the two countries are based on mutual respect and recognition as allies and strategic partners, which he said explains why negotiations on a free trade agreement were completed in just a year.
“Both governments and people have recognized the importance of strengthening commercial exchanges as a fundamental factor in strengthening ties of cooperation and friendship,” he noted.
“Good, pretty and cheap”
Ortega Murillo and Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao were the ones who signed the document after a year of negotiations.
Nicaragua’s official and Sandinista media have begun promoting Chinese products and companies as “good, pretty and cheap.”
Last May, an early harvest agreement signed between Managua and Beijing in July 2022 came into force, which, among other things, exempted Nicaraguan products such as beef, fish and seafood and some textile items from tariffs.
According to official figures, exchanges between China and Nicaragua totaled $760 million last year.
China and Nicaragua resumed diplomatic relations in December 2021 after the Central American country severed official ties with Taiwan, a territory whose sovereignty Beijing claims.
The parties expect the agreement to come into effect early next year.