Ecuador looks for Korea's investments in green sector

Cesar Montano, vice foreign minister of Ecuador, poses after an interview with The Korea Times at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul, Nov. 10. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The South American country of Ecuador hopes to learn from Korea's expertise in technology and attract investments from it, especially in the green sector, according to a high-level government official of the country. Cesar Montano, vice foreign minister of Ecuador, made an official visit to Korea from Nov. 8 to 11, during which he also participated in the Korea-Pacific Alliance Green Economy Forum on Nov. 10.

Montano is the first high-level Ecuadorian official to visit Korea since new Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso took office in May. The Lasso administration is open to international trade and foreign direct investment in order to reinvigorate the country's economy.

"My president believes that by opening the economy, you will have the tools to reduce poverty, to fight inequality and to promote employment. So the strategy is to open the economy," Montano said in an interview with The Korea Times at the Ecuadorian Embassy in central Seoul, Wednesday.

"(The forum) was a great opportunity to exchange points of view between the members of the Pacific Alliance (PA) and Korea about the green agenda. We showed what the policy of President Lasso is ― in terms of respecting the environment, in terms of creating new ways of protecting the oceans, in terms of keeping the water resources ― and other various issues we have on the green agenda.”

Cesar Montano, first row fourth from left, attends the Korea-Pacific Alliance Green Economy Forum in Seoul, Nov. 10. / Courtesy of Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul

Ecuador's major green policies include securing water resources, tackling deforestation and changing the energy matrix to a more eco-friendly one.

Most recently, President Lasso announced a new marine reserve for the Galapagos Islands at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The Galapagos Islands are known for the unique flora and fauna endemic to the islands, and Korea has already supported Ecuador to reduce the use of fossil fuels on the archipelago through a photovoltaic microgrid system project.

"The new extension of the marine reserve of the Galapagos Islands will protect the migratory species, especially those that are in danger of extinction," Montano said.

As a developing country, fighting climate change might contradict Ecuador's development drive, but Ecuador is doing its best to keep pace with the global efforts of cooperating to mitigate climate change, according to the vice minister.

"It is difficult because there are a lot of needs by the population, but the president has taken this approach to protect the environment. It is going to be a challenge in the future, but we are very committed to maintaining international solidarity," he said.

"In this way, Korea has been very helpful in terms of protecting the environment, helping us through technological cooperation. We always will need the solidarity of countries like Korea.”

Cesar Montano, vice foreign minister of Ecuador, speaks during the Ecuador Investment Forum at a hotel in Seoul, Nov. 9. Courtesy of Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul

Opening up Ecuador's economy

Opening up the economy to world trade is a key of President Lasso's economic reforms, the vice minister said.

One of the country's efforts is to try to become the fifth member of the PA, a Latin American trade bloc that currently consists of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

"We believe that through joining the Pacific Alliance we will be able to establish a more fruitful, strong relationship with Pacific Asia. Since all of the members of the Pacific Alliance already have very strong trade links with the Pacific Asian region, Ecuador is trying to move forward on that (as well)," the vice minister said.

Currently, Korea and Ecuador are in free trade agreement (FTA) talks and Montano is positive about concluding the negotiations in the following months.

“My president said, we want an open Ecuador to the world and we want the world to come to Ecuador. Therefore, we need to have partners all over the globe. We are experiencing the loss of preference in the Korean market because our neighbors already have a trade agreement with Korea. So if we don't proceed with concluding that agreement, our products will keep on losing market share in Korea. So we need to speed up," he said.

"I was able to talk to the vice minister of trade and the vice minister of foreign affairs about this issue during my visit and we are very positive that we can come to an agreement in due time.”

Opening up the economy is also related to attracting foreign investment, so Montano had meetings with both the public and private sectors of Korea, as his country is looking into new ways of cooperating with Korea.

"For us, Korea is very important not only because it is a leading nation in Asia and in the world, but also Korea has a lot of expertise in terms of industrial advancement, fighting unemployment and technological development," Montano said.

"We need to industrialize Ecuador and the only way to transform the country is to find new technologies. And Korea is a powerful country in terms of technology, so we want them to invest in technology in Ecuador."

Korea and Ecuador have a portfolio of projects in various fields. Korea is one of the most important contributors in terms of building Ecuador's infrastructure, such as highways and refineries, he said.

"We are also working together to transform Ecuadorian cities into smart cities. We want to transform the living of the people by making our cities more intelligent and the only way to do so is to attract the experience of countries like Korea."

Cesar Montano, left, vice foreign minister of Ecuador, poses with Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, after their meeting in Seoul, Nov. 10. Courtesy of Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul

During the meeting with Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, Montano asked for cooperation with Korea's aerospace industry in the field of satellite observation, for monitoring the marine environment of the Galapagos Islands.

"We need this expertise of the Korean space agency to develop our own space agenda and also in order to gain what Korea has gained in the past. It's very important to have that space technology for many purposes, and Korea has the expertise to deliver the important knowledge," Montano said.

The vice minister emphasized Korea's importance to Ecuador, especially the solidarity Korea has shown with it during the pandemic.

"We were very thankful to Korea because Korea was very positive in helping Ecuador ― especially in the health sector ― to recover from this pandemic. We received many donations from Korea in terms of medical supplies," he said.

"We are making efforts to recover from COVID-19 as well as (improve) the whole health system of the country. To support the health system of Ecuador, the experiences of Korea are very important for us to sustain this recovery."

Korea and Ecuador will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year and President Lasso is considering making an official visit to Korea after attending the Beijing Winter Games.

"It will be an important occasion to take a look into what has been in the 60 years of relations between the two countries and what we need to strengthen (in terms of) the relations in the future, not only in terms of trade, but also in terms of culture, politics and the solidarity that Korea has always shown with Ecuador, as one of its biggest donors of international cooperation," the vice minister said.