H.E. Mr. Juan Salazar Sancisi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador

Within hours after presenting his credentials to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov, H.E. Mr. Juan Salasar Sancisi gave an exclusive interview for Bulgarian Diplomatic Review magazine.

Your Excellency, what is your assessment of the Bulgarian-Ecuadorian bilateral relations? In your opinion, what is the level of these relations?
Historically, the bilateral relations between Ecuador and Bulgaria have been based on mutual friendship and have always been very good. Now that Bulgaria has become an EU member, I understand that the country will have to adapt some agreements that were signed earlier, not only with Ecuador, but also with the whole international community. Now we have a very good opportunity to review and update these Agreements. We have many legal instruments in the areas of commerce, culture, education, science and consular affairs. We can put into practice new ideas, taking into account this new reality of Bulgaria, to the mutual benefit of the two countries. In practical terms, that will strengthen our bilateral relations and make them more fluid.

In your opinion, what has to be done to deepen the commercial and economic relations between the two countries? What does make Bulgaria attractive to Ecuador?
Let me tell you that historically, commerce has been quite fluid among the two countries. For sure, when you were a teenager, you ate some Ecuadorian products like banana, cacao, coffee, etc. The Republic of Ecuador changed a lot, particularly because we discovered oil in the 1970s, and with this important revenue we transformed our country, especially our economy and exportations. We have diversified our products and markets. Bananas, cocoa and coffee are still the key products, to them non-traditional products such as flowers, especially roses, represent an important income to our economy. Additionally, we have many sophisticated products such as the seafood (tuna, sardines), shrimps, and many tropical fruits like pineapple, passion fruit, and mangoes, among others. So, we hope that we’ll introduce these new products on the market of Bulgaria. As for Bulgarian products, my interest here will be, of course, machinery – a major area of Bulgarian production.

Do you have an action plan of your own for deepening the bilateral relations? What will be the area you are to concentrate your efforts on?
After the meeting I had with your President as well as the meetings with high-level officials, especially at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I am very optimistic because the Bulgarian authorities and the Ecuadorian ones deal with the same issues: to give life to the bilateral agreements and make specific steps to increase our commerce. So, there is a lot of work, lying ahead.

There is interesting work on multilateral affairs, especially on environment as well as social issues, like human rights regarding migration.

Both, Bulgaria and Ecuador are agrarian countries. We need to talk and to look together to find a common approach to the new realities in the world. We both share common interests regarding international markets, the Doha negotiations and the WTO. 

Have you been in Bulgaria before?
This is my first visit. It is my discovering of Sofia and Bulgaria. I am strongly impressed with the beauty of this historical city and the hospitality of its people. I have friends here, as is the case with the appointed Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Sofia, Mr. Zachary Kusheff. His main task will be to promote trade and culture.