Ecuador is seeking investments from Qatar, especially for its infrastructure development, as part of strengthening the bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries.
The country, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which depends on crude oil for half of its national budget, is seeking more foreign investment in view of sliding oil prices and it seeks to enhance cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries and facilitate investments in various sectors.
Addressing the media here yesterday, Ecuador Finance Minister Fausto Herrera said his country is open to welcome new investments and has created a legal framework to encourage and protect those investments.
The minister said he had talks with leading financial institutions in Qatar regarding investments, to which the responses were positive.
Ecuador last year disclosed a series of four PPP (public private partnership) infrastructure projects cumulatively worth $1.5bn. These include the development of the ports of Posorja and Machala, as well as the Rio 7 highway in Huaquillas. New regulations and laws are being established for the PPP to go ahead.
The biggest sector of Ecuador’s economy is services. Retail and wholesale trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, communication and warehousing, financial intermediation, professional, technical, administrative and household services, education and health and government services and goods account for 57% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Manufacturing, mining and quarrying constitute 23% of the wealth and construction and water and electricity distribution 11%. Agriculture, forestry and fishing account for the remaining 9% of GDP.
The relations between the two countries have strengthened and highlighted that one Qatari firm has started operations in Ecuador, he said in the presence of Ecuador ambassador to Qatar Kabalan Abisaab Neme.
There are various firms in Ecuador either with Qatari shareholders or owned by Qatari businessmen. This includes the oil group Gente Oil with investments amounting to $700mn, which looks to invest in new oil projects and tourism sector.
Late last year, a high-level delegation from Qatar led by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani, Ezdan Holding Group chairman and Qatari Businessmen Association second deputy chairman, met Ecuador President Rafael Correa in Quito and discussed investment opportunities in the Latin American country.
Highlighting the need to boost trade between the two countries, Herrera said it was imperative to improve the logistic hurdles so that products from Ecuador can enter Qatar. In this regard, he said Qatar Airways can play a significant role in order to boost trade as well as tourism.