Ecuador is seeking partnerships with major players in Qatar’s private sector in various investment projects such as tourism and food security,  Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki said. 
In a press conference held recently, A-Baki announced that Ecuador’s Minister of Commerce and Investment will lead a high-level delegation to Qatar to meet and discuss investment opportunities with Qatari companies.
She said the embassy and Ecuador’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment, through the Institute of Export and Investment Promotion ProEcuador, will be staging the ‘International Trade Networking: Ecuador-Qatar Edition 2018’ on Thursday at the St Regis Hotel in Doha.
During the meeting, A-Baki said local importers will meet directly with Ecuador’s top producers of chocolate, coffee, banana, flowers, processed food, fishery, aquaculture, textile, and handicrafts, among others.
“More than 20 leading companies will be part of the delegation and these firms are keen on securing deals with their Qatari counterparts during the networking event,” A-Baki told Gulf Times.
She added that Ecuador is looking at strengthening bilateral relations with Qatar and increasing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.
“This is precisely why we are having this networking meeting because our trade volume with Qatar in 2017 is only $10mn, and we want to increase that in the future,” she pointed out.
In a related development, A-Baki said Qatar Football Association (QFA) president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani recently met with Ecuador President Lenin Moreno Garces to promote co-operation for the development of football in both the countries.
During the meeting, which was organised by A-Baki, Garces witnessed the signing of an agreement for the exchange of expertise in football between the QFA and the Ecuadorian Football Federation FEF.
A-Baki also highlighted the “important role” played by the QFA in the evolution of football in the region. “We have proposed a friendly match between selected teams of Ecuador and Qatar on mid-October in Doha,” Al-Baki said.
Sheikh Hamad said: “I was happy to fly to Guayaquil-Ecuador to sign the co-operation agreement between my country and its brother Ecuador to exchange expertise and knowledge in this important topic related to the World cup 2022.”



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