Ecuador - Iran relations refer to foreign relations between Ecuador and Iran. During the presidencies of Rafael Correa and

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

in the 21st century, relations between the two countries were restored and strengthened. Iran has an embassy in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

. Ecuador closed its embassy in Tehran in 1978.

History

The Venezuelan government, as represented by President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

, helped foster ties between Iran and Ecuador. In a December 2008 visit to Tehran, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa signed several agreements. Correa announced that both countries would open embassies in each other's capitals by January 2009. As a result of the diplomatic conflict with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

over the raid of an alleged FARC camp in Ecuador, Correa is reported to have discussed the possibility of an arms deal with Iran. As a member of ALBA, Correa participated in a joint declaration of support to the Iranian government in June 2009.

Military relations

Due to the new approach in foreign policy under Correa, Ecuador looked to non-tradition partners for their arms supplies. While Ecuador was the first foreign country to buy arms for Indian weapons manufacturers, it also looked to Iran to procure armaments. Due to the

2008 Andean diplomatic crisis The 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It began with an incursion into Ecuadorian territory across the Putumayo River by the Military of Colombia, Colom ...

with

, Correa said Ecuador had "a very serious problem on the northern border with Colombia, an irresponsible government that does not take care of its border. We need to equip ourselves… Iran can supply us and help us with credit."

Economic relations

Economic ties have grown during the Correa and

administration. Like other states in Latin America, Iran has extended financing for a host of projects. Ecuador, in turn, has become the primary importer of Iranian products having replaced Peru. Trade between the two went from a paltry $8m to $168m from 2007 to 2008. Ecuador and Iran have also cooperated in the port, agriculture and auto industries.

American backlash against Ecuador

In 2010, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) named both Ecuador and Iran as countries failing to comply with international regulations against

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

and financing terrorism. It said Ecuador had not "constructively engaged" with the body and was "not committed" to global standards on money crimes. Correa was quick to condemn the move: "What arrogance! And why? Because we have relations with Iran. That's it. This is imperialism in its most base form. ... This has nothing to do with the struggle against money laundering." Meanwhile, Ecuador's private bank association also said the Iran factor was behind the country's inclusion on the FATF list citing a 2009 agreement between Ecuador's Central Bank and some Iranian financial institutions. However, Ecuador maintained its ties with Iran would not change. Ecuadorian Central Bank President

Diego Borja Diego Borja Cornejo (born May 1, 1964) is an Ecuadorian economist and politician born in Quito, Ecuador. Between 2005 and 2006 he served as Minister of Finance of Ecuador, Minister of Economy and Finance. He was elected member of the National Cons ...

also traveled to the United States to dispel concerns about the Iranian central bank's plans to deposit 40 million euros with Ecuador's central bank.

Continued support

Despite US pressure, Correa affirmed commitment to the relationship saying "we cuadorianshave nothing against Iran. Iran has done nothing to us." He later said " e arenot going to stop getting closer to Iran because (the United States) has it on a black list." Ecuador also affirmed support, along with various other international pariah states, for Iran's nuclear programme. After an attempted coup on Correa in 2010, the two countries signaled intentions to deepen ties.

References