Ecuador and the US sign an open skies agreement

Ecuador and the United States signed an open skies agreement and discussed issues of cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking, within the framework of the visit to Quito of the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland.

The air transport agreement under the open skies modality "allows the expansion of passenger and cargo flights between Ecuador and the United States, thus promoting the increase in travel and trade, and the strengthening of supply chains," she said.

Without specifying when it will be in force, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added on Twitter that the agreement "is only the conclusion of a great relationship between the United States and Ecuador."

In a joint press conference between Nuland and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín, the head of Ecuadorian diplomacy said that the meeting also addressed issues of the bilateral relationship "aimed above all at cooperation in terms of defence and fight against criminal structures ".

Ecuador, a neighbour of Colombia and Peru, the largest cocaine producers, has seen violence and drug seizures grow.

"We will be together to see how to increase our support month by month as we rebuild our security alliance, helping them with the prison system, with the police, with the anti-corruption court," Nuland said.