Trade, security, and environment are some of the issues that Ecuador and Brazil will discuss during the visit of the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, to the capital of Ecuador.

Quito.- Vieira will meet with President Guillermo Lasso, with whom he will discuss issues related to the security and integration of the countries of the Amazon basin.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador, Gustavo Manrique, will also receive Vieira and will follow up on the progress of bilateral agenda issues, especially trade, security cooperation, and the environment, an official note stated.

Despite the ideological differences between Brazil and Ecuador, President Lasso promotes bilateral relations with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who pushes regional integration through mechanisms such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

Media outlets announced that Lula invited Latin American leaders to a meeting at the end of this month to discuss the reactivation of UNASUR, cooperation in health, defense, infrastructure, and the future of the countries in the region.

Ecuador has not ruled on the matter so far as analysts and social organizations criticized the foreign policy of the current administration.

“Regional integration has not been a priority in Lasso’s servile and erratic foreign policy. Hopefully, he will attend the meeting called by Lula, with a sovereign position following the principles of the Constitution,” former Ecuadorian Vice Foreign Minister Fernando Yépez commented on Twitter. (PL)