The Vice-President of Ecuador, Otto Ramón Sonnenholzner, with the Director of Department of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Fakhro, during a reception held at Marsa Malaz Kempinski, yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN/THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The strong relations between Qatar and Ecuador have reached new heights with several recent developments in diplomatic ties, Ecuadorian Vice President Otto Sonneholzener, said yesterday. Sonneholzener is in Doha on four-day visit during which he will attend the inauguration of Doha Forum 2019, tomorrow.
The visit also aims to boost the bilateral cooperation and launch new opportunities for investment in both countries, as well as expand trade volume between the two countries, said Sonneholzener addressing a press conference.
“The bilateral relationship between Ecuador and Qatar has grown very fast within a short period of time. Even the trade relationship has grown and the trade volume increased this year by 40 percent,” he said.
He also emphasised that Ecuador, which has its only embassy for the Gulf region in Doha, is an optimistic sign of strengthening bilateral relations with Qatar and the strategic importance of the country.
Ivonne A Baki, the Ambassador of Ecuador to Qatar was also present during the press conference, held at her official residence in Marsa Malaz Kempinski at The Pearl. The press conference was followed by a reception which hosted several diplomats and dignitaries including Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhroo, Director of Department of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sonneholzener said that talks with different Qatari officials will focus on energy to benefit both Qatar and Ecuador. “There is a lot of interest among Qatari investors in Ecuador in agriculture and aquaculture sector. We are the largest exporters of shrimps, tuna and bananas and the second largest exporter of roses and cocoa,” Sonneholzener said.
“We are mostly exporting bananas and roses to Qatar. Not much but it’s one of the markets that is growing steadily. We look for possibilities for export of shrimps. There is a lot of interest in tourism, real estate and infrastructure of port operations as well,” he said.
“We see Qatar is also interested in operating one of our ports in north Ecuador specialised in oil transport. We used to export most of our oil from this port,” he added.
Discussions were held in this regard between the Minister of Transport and Public Works of Ecuador and Minister of Transport of Qatar.
Sonneholzener also highlighted that Ecuador is safe for investment and tourism.
Answering a query about direct flights, Sonneholzener said that the issue is the distance between Doha and Quito. “We saw a different opportunity during the talks with Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways. They operate an airline in Italy. There are 500,000 Ecuadorians in Italy. There is an interesting market and so there a potential for a connecting flight from Doha to Quito via Rome. We have an aggressive campaign in bringing new airlines to Ecuador,” he said.
Sonneholzener also lauded the theme of Doha Forum 2019 - Diplomacy, Dialogue, Diversity.
“It is a privilege for us to attend the Doha Forum. I’m here to take forward the legacy created by our President Lenin Moreno's participation last year. Educator is sample of ethical, cultural and religious diversity,” he said.
