Minister for Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi met at the Fforeign ministry in Rome today with Vice-President of the National Ssembly of Ecuador Juan Carlos Cassinelli, in Italy for a series of parliamentary diplomacy meetings and with the Ecuadoran community. With Terzi he confirmed the excellent status of bilateral relations, based on the strong bonds of friendship between the two peoples, strengthened by the large respective communities in both countries.
Ample discussion centred on the outlining of a debt conversion agreement, which will allow the Ecuadoran government to use the related resources to contribute to a broad-based environmental protection programme in the country’s largest natural park, launched by Ecuador in the UN.
In this way, Italy will become the top contributor in the world to the project for saving Ecuador’s natural heritage from the consequences of the possible oil drilling in that area, from which Ecuador will abstain thanks to the funds made available by the international community.
During the meeting, the two ministers also agreed on the intention to increase bilateral understandings in regard to direct flights, social security, criminal judiciary cooperation and double-taxation.
