Ecuador and Saudi Arabia talk about a free trade agreement

The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, and his Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Holguín, met with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, to strengthen relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Ecuador seeks to have more trade relations with the world, in the photo the port of Manta.

At the meeting, held at the Carondelet Palace, in the Historic Center of Quito, issues related to investment, trade and cooperation, among other topics, were discussed.

According to the foreign minister, the meeting was “very positive,” the Presidency said in a statement.

He noted that “a conversation has begun to think about a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries,” which would be a great contribution to strengthening a bilateral relationship that will allow commercial expansion in the future.

The Saudi minister agreed with this, noting that “there are tremendous opportunities to work in all areas: agriculture, energy, technology, tourism and thus work together to improve opportunities to take advantage of them for the benefit of both countries.”

Precisely, during the meeting it was pointed out that Saudi Arabia currently has a comprehensive Food Security Plan, within which some Ecuadorian products play a fundamental role, for which possible contributions in terms of technology transfer and knowledge were reviewed around the agro-exports and agriculture.

Holguín also explained that security was one of the topics discussed at the meeting; and, within the framework of the Ecological Transition -which is one of the pillars of the Lasso Government- planning has begun to work jointly with Saudi Arabia, one of the world leaders in renewable energy.

In the aforementioned topic, green hydrogen and the future of oil were discussed, reads a statement from the Presidency.

Among other aspects, information was also reviewed in the academic field to benefit exchange students, and investment and trade between the Arab world and Latin America were also discussed.

“I am very optimistic about the relationship with your country, and I look forward to continuing to work together,” said the Saudi minister, according to the Presidency statement.