Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 4 February 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 6 February 2019. It was answered by Alan Duncan (Conservative) on Monday, 11 February 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Ecuador: Foreign Relations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with its counterpart in Ecuador on building economic ties with the UK.

Answer: The Department for International Trade leads on this issue. Most recently, the Secretary of State for International Trade met his Ecuadorean counterpart, Mr Pablo Campana, on 24 January. Discussions focused on replicating the current broader EU-Andean Free Trade Agreement into a bilateral agreement with the UK, to ensure there is no disruption to our trading relationship as we leave the EU. More widely, British Government officials, including our Ambassador in Quito, are in regular contact with the Ecuadorean government on a variety of bilateral issues, including the economic relationship. UK goods exports to Ecuador more than doubled following the entry into force of the EU Ecuador Trade Agreement in January 2017.

Secondary information