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South America and South Atlantic Islands
Ecuador |
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Country information
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Relations with Neighbours
Ecuador has in the past had serious tensions with Peru over territorial disputes, which last erupted into open conflict on the border in 1995. In 1998 both countries initialled an agreement in Rio de Janeiro which provided a framework to resolve major outstanding issues. On October 26, 1998 Presidents Fujimori and Mahuad signed a comprehensive settlement in Brazil. Relations with Peru have since remained stable.
Ecuador has been, and continues to be, affected by the conflict in Colombia, in terms of drugs, illegal and terrorist Colombian armed groups on both sides of the border, trafficking of small arms and the steady flow of Colombian refugees fleeing the conflict. Ecuador is promoting Plan Ecuador to co-ordinate a response to the northern border issues, including raising international financial support for projects in the area.
Relations between President Correa and Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe remain tense. Ecuador has declined to classify the major guerrilla groups in Colombia as terrorists, and insists that Colombia’s civil strife is an internal problem. Ecuador has consistently protested against Colombian aerial spraying of coca cultivation in the border region alleging that Ecuadorians living in the area are suffering from crop failure and health problems caused by the chemicals which drift across the border. Ecuador has now taken its case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In early March 2008, diplomatic relations were severed by Ecuador in response to a military incursion by Colombian troops into Ecuadorian territory, which led to the death of a member of the FARC secretariat encamped on Ecuadorian soil. Despite various attempts to resolve the situation diplomatic relations have not yet been restored.
Relations with the UK
Historical links go back to the first attempt to gain independence from the Spanish in Quito on 10 August 1809 chronicled by William Bennet Stevenson, an Englishman acting as Secretary to Count Ruiz de Castilla, the leader of the Revolt.
Cultural Relations with the UK
There is no formal cultural programme. The British Embassy administers one Chevening scholarship and potentially several fellowships.
The British Embassy has used visual and plastic art resources to promote children's rights and the conservation of the environment, including the Magic Pencil Exhibition, which has been shown in four cities, and the Green Grass Can Grow In Quito project in 2006.
