The government’s trade program is continuing despite the short time it has left. The process of launching negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada already has specific dates. This was announced by the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries on Monday, June 19, after its head, Julio José Prado, met virtually with his Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng .

The ministry said Prado and the Canadian official have agreed on the next steps in the negotiations. In this way, they have decided that the exploratory phase that began last February ends this month; and that next September the request to begin negotiations be sent to the Parliament of Canada.

Ecuador hopes to sign a trade agreement with South Korea in the months remaining in the government of Guillermo Lasso

This announcement is in addition to the one Prado made last week regarding the progress of the signing of the agreement with South Korea, scheduled in two or three months, which could coincide with a visit by President Guillermo Lasso to this country.

The Minister recalled, on his Twitter account, that 24 disciplines will be negotiated with Canada. “This month, we will close the exploratory phase. We will leave everything ready for the new government to resume negotiations without wasting time. It will be a very important trade agreement for our country,” Prado added.

Meanwhile, Minister Mary Ng highlighted the leadership of Canadian companies, major investors in Ecuador’s natural resource sector, and highlighted Canada’s interest in exploring new opportunities related to infrastructure projects, said reported the state portfolio.

According to official figures, over the past five years, Ecuadorian exports to Canada have increased by 22% per year, from $85.2 million in 2017 to $189.8 million in 2021, ranking in the high 20 non-oil export destinations of Ecuador.

While in the field of investments, in the period from 2017 to 2021, the North American country was the main foreign investor in our country, with a foreign direct investment (FDI) of 739.4 million dollars.