Ecuador and the United States started dialogues on Monday in an effort to narrow important political and economic differences, Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In a communique, the ministry said it is discussing "the most important topics of the bilateral relations" with the U.S. State Department.
These conversations focused on "establishing a formal mechanism of discussions to promote the development of mutually beneficial programs and projects in all areas," the communique read.
In a recent visit to Quito, Andrew Bowen, sub-director of the Andean Affairs Office of the U.S. State Department met with officials of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry to "analyze the possible contents of a broad bilateral dialogue."
The resumption of dialogues between the two countries came after negotiations between Quito and Washington for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were suspended in 2006 when former President Alfredo Palacio was in power.
Incumbent President Rafael Correa, during his campaign for presidency in 2006, vowed not to sign an FTA with the United States if he considered it harmful to his country and would not renew the agreement with the U.S. to lease the Air Base of Manta, in the west of Ecuador.
Recently, he has accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of infiltrating the Ecuadorian police and military intelligence services, and ordered the reshuffling of those departments which he considered "subjected" to Washington.
Source:Xinhua
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