Ecuador and the Dominican Republic agree to strengthen trade and the energy sector of both nations

This General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency release was published using machine translation.

Quito, Ecuador. The President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, received this March 6, 2023, his counterpart from the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader. The meeting held from the Carondelet Palace, in the historic center of Quito, focused on issues of common interest to strengthen bilateral relations between both countries, especially on energy and trade issues.

The Ecuadorian Head of State pointed out that Ecuador is united by a deep friendship with the Dominican Republic, especially because the two nations "share the same democratic values and respect for the rule of law and institutions." And his Dominican counterpart agreed on this by indicating the principles of democracy, development and economic growth unite both nations; and that will be reflected in the meeting of the Alliance for Development in Democracy, with the presence of Costa Rica and Panama, which is taking place today in Quito.

Among the main achievements of the bilateral meeting, President Lasso indicated that it was agreed to start talks for an alliance with the Dominican Republic, with the objective of evaluating the repowering of the Amistad natural gas field. The idea is to "increase the supply of this resource for the benefit of sustainable development for both nations," he said.

Also, the two leaders agreed that there is an interest in carrying out activities of analysis, exploration and additional production of Ecuadorian crude, to satisfy the long-term needs of the Dominican Republic.

Security, regional integration and migration.

Within the good news after the meeting, President Guillermo Lasso Mendoza announced that soon Ecuador will attend the Ibero-American Summit that will be in the Dominican Republic. At this meeting, the South American country will receive the pro tempore presidency of this integration mechanism. With a view to 2024, Ecuador will become the venue for the summit for the first time.

In response, the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, considers that the transfer of the pro tempore presidency to Ecuador will be positive, since great work is envisioned from this body.

President Lasso also highlighted the role that the country will play in the United Nations Security Council, giving a specific analysis of the situation in Haiti and the role played by the international community.

Likewise, both countries agree that they must work together on the challenge of migration, with a firm conviction to combat criminal structures and the smuggling of migrants.

Trade agreement Similarly, the President of Ecuador assured that there is interest in starting and accelerating negotiations for a trade agreement with the Dominican Republic. In this sense, Luis Abinader mentioned that they are organizing a commission of Dominican businessmen to meet in May to analyze the benefits of a trade agreement with Ecuador.