(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The visiting President of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado, invited Qatari businessmen to invest in some of the promising sectors of the Ecuadorean economy, including oil and gas, mining and quarrying, food and agriculture and tourism.
"We highly admire Qatar as a nation, and appreciate our relationships with the Gulf state, and I am here to deepen and strengthen the bilateral ties. We are ready to welcome you as well with open arms," said President Correa in his address at a dinner hosted on his honour by Qatari Businessmen's Association (QBA).
Correa, who was here on an official visit with an accompanying delegation of senior representatives from public and private businesses, said: "Ecuador has emerged as one of the most favourite destination of foreign investors. We have identified 12 emerging sectors for foreign investment, and among them four sectors are highly promising. We are ready to welcome Qatari investors as well as tourists."
Present were Hussain Ibrahim Alfardan, Chairman of Alfardan Group, and First Deputy to the Chairman, QBA; Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Chairman of Ezdan Holding Group, and Second Deputy to the Chairman of QBA; Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber; Sheikh Nawaf bin Nasser Al Thani, President and CEO, NBK Group, and scores of dignitaries and guests.
President Correa, who has been re-elected for a second consecutive term, highlighted the achievements of his government and also the favourable conditions that put in place for attracting investments such as political stability, better infrastructure, lowest debt-GDP ratio (25 percent), tax reforms, and high level of public investments in social sectors.
"We are the country with highest level of investments in education in the region (percentage of GDP). For instance, until 2006, there were only about 300 scholarships awarded, which have now grown to over 10,000. Nearly 3,000 Ecuadorian students are studying overseas in some of the best universities of the world," he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar and Ecuador signed a set of agreements with a view to further strengthening bilateral relations following the official talks between the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President Correa on Wednesday, according to Qatar News Agency.
The talks, which were held at the Emiri Diwan, were attended by several ministers and the members of the official delegation accompanying the president. Following the talks the Emir and President Correa witnessed the signing of some agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which included an agreement on double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to income taxes; waiving visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and special passports; and a memorandum of goodwill on media co-operation and exchange of news.
In February last year, during the visit of the Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, which was the first visit of a head of state from Qatar to Ecuador, both countries had signed an MoU on tourism, which was among the nine agreements inked for cooperation in different fields between two nations.
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