The President of Ecuador, William Lassotold EFE today that The negotiation with Mexico to sign an important trade agreement is “frozen”that he will continue to fight illegal mining in his country and that, despite supporting the transition to clean energy, Ecuador cannot close its oil wells “overnight.”
In an interview in Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum, Lasso also referred to the good economic forecasts that are looming for Ecuador despite the bad omens in the global contextand said he hoped that the population of his country would support the constitutional referendum called for February 5.
Trade agreement with Mexico
The negotiation with Mexico on a free trade agreement – an essential condition for Ecuador’s entry into the Pacific Alliance – is frozen… because Ecuador has two important products, bananas and shrimp, and Mexico has told us that it is not willing to allow the entry of both ”, he affirmed.
The Ecuadorian president stressed that he does not see, for the moment, “any way out.”
We have proposed alternatives to consider Mexico’s position, but at the last moment Mexico has been very clear in telling us that under no circumstances does it want to include shrimp and bananas in the free trade agreement,” he added.
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This agreement is the main condition for Ecuador to enter as a full member of the Pacific Alliance bloc.integrated by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
Illegal minery
Lasso, who is attending Davos for the first time, where he has held interviews and contacts with companies and representatives of international organizations such as the IMF, stated that “the world’s large mining companies have an interest in Ecuador, but they also maintain concerns regarding violent speeches that tell them from Ecuador not to come to invest in mining”.
He called on mining companies to invest in Ecuador and stressed that his government will fight illegal mining “with law enforcement”because “it is a threat to the stability of the Ecuadorian State.”
I want to tell all the mining companies in the world that this government supports legal mining and is going to fight illegal mining with great force, which affects the environment, does not respect the labor rights of workers, and is also a vehicle for laundering money.” , he pointed.
energy transition
Regarding one of the most present issues in the debates of this edition of the Davos Forum, the necessary transition to clean energy, Lasso pointed out that “in Ecuador, 90% of the energy that is generated is clean, coming mainly from water, they are hydroelectric projects.
Altogether, Ecuador produces about 5,000 megawatts a year and we consume 4,200. But we have projects in the pipeline that can allow us to double the current electricity generation capacity, therefore our country is in line with this energy transition that is taking place in the world, ”he said.
However, he recognized that with respect to fossil fuels, such as oil, “we cannot end up with resources from which Ecuador’s economy lives overnight.”
There are countries in Europe that with the energy crisis are reviving their coal plants, so we are not going to be so naive as to close the oil wells because they are resources that we need, even for the construction of hydroelectric, wind and photovoltaic projects of the future” .
Upbeat Economic Outlook
Regarding his contacts in Davos, he cited his interview with the managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, whom he thanked for the institution’s support in recent years.
He also met with different companies, “some that are already in Ecuador and others that want to arrive, in different fields, mining activities or another type, shipyards or companies that sell agricultural products, as well as those who want to enter with new companies in the technological area” of the country.
Faced with some bad economic omens in the global context that have been heard in Davos even warning of a possible recession in 2023, Lasso assured that “Ecuador is one of the few countries in the world, according to organizations such as the WB and the IMF, that will achieve a significant growth in 2023 and we have inflation projections that are the second lowest in the world after Japan”.
On the other hand, he affirmed that, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2023-2024, Ecuador’s objective “will always be to support peace processes in the world and consider that dialogue is the best way to resolve disputes.” . We will show our respect for multilateralism and also for the rule of law, for international law,” she said.
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