Bipartisan delegation of U.S. Senators visited Quito to meet with President Guillermo Lasso, other members of the Ecuadorian government, National Assembly leaders, and members of the business community and civil society
The delegation was in Quito to discuss environment, economic, security, narcotrafficking, and migration issue
Quito, July 7, 2021. A bipartisan delegation of U.S. Senators, led by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH), both members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and including Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) from the Senate Finance Committee, John Hoeven (R-ND) from the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation visited Quito. They met with officials from the Government of Ecuador, National Assembly, business leaders, and civil society organizations to discuss the environment; trade, economic, and migration issues; narcotrafficking and security challenges, and to demonstrate the commitment of the United States to enhancing the bilateral relationship. During their meetings, the Senators also discussed U.S. efforts to help Ecuador fight COVID-19, including the recent donation of 2 million Pfizer vaccines to Ecuador.
The delegation met with President Guillermo Lasso to discuss possible areas of expanding cooperation between the U.S. and Ecuador, including economic programs and the growing bilateral trade relationship, and cooperation on security and curbing narcotrafficking. In addition, the U.S. delegation held meetings with the President of the National Assembly, Guadalupe Llori, and with members of the National Assembly Legislative Administrative Council.
The senators also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauricio Montalvo, Minister of Defense Fernando Donoso, and Minister of Commerce Julio Jose Prado to discuss security, governance, the plight of Venezuelan and other migrants, the fight against drug trafficking, and U.S. assistance to help detect money laundering and financial crimes, among other issues.
As part of the agenda, the delegation also visited the Hogar de la Madre San Francisco migrant shelter to learn about the situation of migrants in Ecuador, had a roundtable with environmental and wildlife trafficking experts, and met with senior business leaders.
