Quito, July 11 (Pressa Latina) Ecuador and the European Union (EU) will sign an agreement next week to implement cooperation on issues such as science, education, trade and technology, said the South American country’s chancellor, Gustavo Manrique, announced today given.
The signing will come as part of Ecuador’s participation in the summit between the European bloc and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), the diplomatic chief said in an interview with digital media La Posta on Tuesday.
The subscription is to Josep Borrell, in charge of EU foreign policy, confirmed the minister for foreign affairs and human mobility, for whom his country is “on the radar” of the old continent.
On the abolition of the Schengen visa for Ecuadorians, Manrique said he still hopes to achieve the exemption as soon as possible.
The documentation process has been completed and it remains for the European Parliament to make the decision in the coming months, he added.
The head of Ecuadorian diplomacy took the opportunity to dismiss allegations of the alleged “sale” of the Galapagos Islands, declaring that “there is no argument supporting such a perverse thesis”.
The country’s sovereignty is guaranteed, according to the Secretary of State, who said the $450 million debt swap would go toward protecting the islands’ migratory marine corridors of marine protected areas, as well as water and sanitation projects.
On this subject, this Tuesday in Quito, Manrique held a meeting with representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in the national territory to highlight the benefits of the exchange for this archipelago.
Analysts say that following the agreement with Swiss bank Credit Suisse, the government has ceded sovereignty over this territory, which is considered a natural paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The action would see the state stop paying $1,126 million in exchange for allocating more than $450 million to a trust established to protect nature: the Galapagos Life Fund (GLF), a United States incorporated corporation.
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