Doha: The Latin American country of Ecuador is looking to boost the bilateral ties with Qatar in the areas of tourism, agriculture and real estate investment.
There is a huge potential to develop partnership in these areas of common interest, said Ambassador of Ecuador to Qatar, H E Pascual Del Cioppo speaking to The Peninsula recently.
He said that the World Cup will not only open the doors for fans to see Qatar as a tourist destination but as a real estate spot for Ecuador and other countries.
“We are planning to make a window of the Qatar real estate for the interested investors. We will show them the opportunities and facilities,” said Del Cioppo.
“The country’s infrastructure, development and safety standards are optimistic signs for investors,” he added.
Ecuador, which has its only embassy for the Gulf region in Doha, is an optimistic sign of strengthening ties with Qatar and the strategic importance of the country.
“Over the months, one of my prime aims is to bring more tourists from Ecuador to Qatar and vice versa as well. Ecuador has so much to offer for tourists and it can be a fine attraction for travellers from Qatar,” said Del Cioppo who has been serving in Doha for more than five months.
Del Cioppo said that, more than making up for its small size, Ecuador is home to array of indigenous and Latin cultures, colonial architecture, scenic landscapes, and dense rainforests.
He said that there were plans to attract tourists from Ecuador to Qatar. “Qatar has a unique culture, heritage and so much more for the tourist from the West to experience,” Del Cioppo added.
“We want Qatar Airways to operate a direct passenger flight,” he said, which according to him, will help boost the outbound and inbound tourism in both the countries.
Speaking about the climate for Qatar to invest in Ecuador, assuring that Ecuador has policy consistency when it comes to foreign investments; the envoy said the country has solid legal and arbitration framework, apart from tax incentives to investors, this new extraordinary opportunity that starts with the new face of our president, Guillermo Lasso, who took office, one year ago.
“We give security to investors in our country and opportunities are open in fields of real estate, mine agriculture, oil and gas,” he said.
Currently, Qatar Airways Cargo is bringing thousands of world class roses from Quito twice every week and Del Cioppo said that Ecuador is seeking to expand the imports in all produces.
“We are known for our roses. Most of roses people buy here are from Ecuador and we want to increase it further. Also, we are in conversation with leading hypermarkets, especially with Lulu to increase imports of banana, prawns, mangoes, pitahayas, coffee, cocoa and chocolate,” he said.
