St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of Ecuador have made moves to foster closer ties, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).{{more}}

The Memorandum of Understanding or the Establishment of Bilateral Consultations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Commerce, Information and Technology of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador, was signed on Wednesday, November 13, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conference room in Kingstown, by Minister of Foreign Affairs Camillo Gonsalves and Ambassador of Ecuador to SVG Galoandres Yepez Holguin.

Last Wednesday’s signing of the MOU moved SVG and Ecuador from a multilateral relationship, to one that will see both countries engaged in dialogue on a regular basis.

“It’s just so that we could talk and reason more,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Camillo Gonsalves told the media, following the signing of the documents.

“It says that we shall hold consultation meetings every two years, and that one meeting will be in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the next one will be in Ecuador, so we will alternate back and forth.

“This Memorandum of Understanding is strengthening the bilateral ties that have been developing by virtue of our presence and membership in all of these multilateral organizations. Ecuador and St Vincent and the Grenadines have a lot in common politically, historically and we share a number of perspectives on development and on cooperation.”

Gonsalves pointed out that Ecuador and St Vincent and the Grenadines have a number of relations in multilateral spheres, such as the United Nations, GRULAC (the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries), the Organization of American States (OAS), CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), and ALBA (Bolivian Alliance for the Americas).

The foreign minister said that areas to be covered during these bilateral talks will range from economy, trade, science and technology, to culture, information and sports and tourism.

Gonsalves also said Ambassador Holguin indicated that the MOU is in keeping with the thrust of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to deepen and strengthen relations in the Caribbean region, and that Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves shares similar views on integration and development.

“In the last decade or so, St Vincent and the Grenadines have had a more activist foreign policy stance on the international sphere, so as we became a more assertive players in foreign policy, Ecuador began to take greater notice of us, and Ecuador, as well, became more assertive in foreign policy, so we began to find ourselves speaking with the same voice on a number of issues.”

St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of Ecuador established diplomatic relations in 1989.(JJ)