The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (deputy), Luis Vayas Valdivieso, and the executive director of the EU-LAC Foundation, Adrián Bonilla, signed a Cooperation Agreement between the Diplomatic Academy of Ecuador and the EU-LAC International Foundation, whose objective is the education, training and updating of the Ecuadorian foreign service.
In his speech, the Deputy Foreign Minister highlighted the importance of this organisation in the training programme for Ecuadorian diplomats and, above all, in strengthening relations between Latin America and the European Union.
"The new generations of diplomats must be ready to face the changing commercial, economic and social dynamics of the world. That is why this agreement represents an excellent opportunity for Ecuadorian diplomats, by generating greater interaction with the European Union in all areas of foreign policy," said Vayas.
For his part, Adrián Bonilla, Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, mentioned that the signing of the agreement expresses the vocation of the foundation and the Ecuadorian government to cooperate and support the idea of a strategic partnership between Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
"It is satisfying to sign this agreement with the Diplomatic Academy of Ecuador that will allow us to jointly promote our activities and, at the same time, to receive once a year a person from the Diplomatic Academy so that he or she can do an internship in the city of Hamburg, Germany," Bonilla said.
The Cooperation Agreement seeks to exchange documents and information relevant to the bi-regional partnership; to make visible and disseminate the activities carried out between the two bodies; to organise and hold conferences, seminars and workshops; to work on joint publications; to open spaces for internships for diplomatic officials in the foundation and to organise negotiation courses.
The Agreement is considered an opportunity to improve the training of Ecuadorian diplomatic officials through research and study at the international level, as the EU-LAC Foundation's mission is to strengthen and promote the bi-regional strategic partnership, improving its visibility and encouraging the active participation of civil society between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
