In an event at the Guayaquil Port Terminal, Fedexpor and the National Police signed an agreement to strengthen the security of exports of Ecuadorian products, given the risk of being contaminated with drug trafficking.
The Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor) and the National Police signed a cooperation agreement for the security of exports on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
Ecuador is the third country with the highest level of drug seizures in the world. And as such it needs to increase the credibility of its licit exports, according to the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata.
The Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor) and the National Police signed a cooperation agreement for the security of exports on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
The Ministry of the Interior and diplomatic delegations from the United States and the European Union participated in the signing of the document. The inter-institutional cooperation agreement seeks to ensure strategic areas of the entire export value chain in Ecuador.
General Pablo Ramírez, national director of Anti-Drug Investigation, indicated that the objective is to strengthen the security of exportable cargo, from production plants to shipping companies.
The program includes exchange of information between the Police and the different links in the export chain, the convergence of databases and technological surveillance.
Cynthia Mayer, president of the Fedexpor board of directors, said that these are “concrete steps and actions to combat drug trafficking within legal commerce.”
This system of “mutual support” against drug trafficking infiltration is key to maintaining export growth, Mayer said. “It will help us open more markets and strengthen the credibility of Ecuadorian products,” according to the president of Fedexpor.
“The message we have to give to the world is that Ecuador generates safe exports,” agreed the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata.
Between January and September 2023, Ecuador has seized 170 tons of drugs, 52 of them in ports. In recent years, between 30% and 35% of drugs have been seized in ports.
