OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2013. Belarus is ready to launch cooperation projects with Ecuador, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas Espinel.

“I have heard a lot about you from your President. We have agreed with the President of Ecuador that you will play the main role on Ecuador’s behalf in building our long-term and, I hope, solid relations,” the Belarusian head of state said addressing the Vice President of Ecuador.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that the economies of the two countries are complementary. The Belarusian leader added that it was time the bilateral trade was increased many times. “We have agreed on about 15 cooperation areas between Ecuador and Belarus. We have similar experience of cooperation with Venezuela. We will see if you are interested in these areas. The President said that it was acceptable for Ecuador. We can start our cooperation with the creation of joint companies in Ecuador right away,” the Belarusian head of state said.

According to the President, there are no closed topics for Belarus in the cooperation with Ecuador: “We are ready to cooperate with you, starting from agriculture up to the military and technical industry.”

“I think that after visiting our companies you will be able to decide on what you are most interested in, and we will be able to launch the implementation of our agreements in the near future,” the Belarusian President added.

For his part, Ecuador Vice President Jorge Glas Espinel said that his visit to Belarus is carried out upon the direct orders of the President of Ecuador. “Our delegation includes several key ministers, and our goal is to outline the areas of the future cooperation between the two countries,” Vice President of Ecuador said.

Jorge Glas Espinel remarked that Ecuador has launched the national development plan. It addresses two major challenges – to eliminate poverty and transform the economic model of Ecuador through industrialization. “Ecuador is too dependent on export of natural resources. Therefore, our economy is very sensitive to the situation on global markets,” he said.

“This morning we started our program with a meeting of the energy working group. We got familiar with your efforts to modernize this important industry. The issue is very important for us because we are going to fulfil very big industrialization plans, and the key to success is energy,” the Vice President of Ecuador said.

Jorge Glas Espinel also said that Ecuador has great hydropower potential. There are plans to build about eight hydroelectric power plants and potentially get most of the electricity from hydroelectric power plants.