Production Minister Julio Jose Prado and his Canadian counterpart Mary Ng at a meeting in Canada in February this year. Photo: Courtesy / Ministry of Production
Betty Jumbo R. Editor (me)
Production Minister Julio Jose Prado stated that he held a virtual meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng. Defining business negotiations.
He explained on his Twitter account that during the dialogue with the senior Canadian trade official, it was concluded that in June 2023, the exploratory phase, which began in February of this year, will be closed. In September, the request will be submitted to the Canadian Parliament to begin negotiations.
“I just had a conversation with @mary_ng,” Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Exports, Small Business and Economic Development, Prado writes.
Negotiations The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Canada will have 24 specializations. “This month we will close the exploratory phase. We will leave everything ready for the new government to resume negotiations without wasting time. “This will be a very important trade agreement for our country.”
The two ministers congratulated the negotiating teams in the two countries for holding 15 working meetings and identifying 24 topics for negotiation.
Specifically, the exploratory phase of the free trade agreement will end this week. After that, that country will begin reporting to request the formal start of negotiations.
Minister Mary Ng He highlighted the leadership of Canadian companies, as they are major investors in the country's natural resources sector. She highlighted Canada's interest in exploring new business opportunities related to infrastructure projects.
Other trade agreements
The government is considering a trade agenda to negotiate with other countries. Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries He explained in an interview last May that he intends to negotiate partial trade agreements with Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Ecuador has previously signed two treaties: with Costa Rica, which were implemented on March 1, 2023, and with China on May 10. Both documents must be approved by the Constitutional Court. After this process, the new National Assembly is expected to ratify it so that it can enter into force.
With South Korea, the signing of the broad trade agreement is still pending, which was quickly negotiated and will likely be signed in September in Seoul, the capital of the Asian country.
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