First-ever Ecuadorian presidential visit to Israel brings giant delegation, determination to improve ties
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso kicked off an official state visit to Israel on Wednesday, the first-ever by an Ecuadorian president to Israel. Accompanying Lasso is a 100-person delegation with the mission of strengthening bilateral ties, specifically in the fields of security and technology. During the trip, Ecuador will inaugurate an Innovation and Commercial Representative Office in Jerusalem to bolster commerce between the two countries.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and first lady Michal Herzog greeted Lasso and his wife, first lady María de Lourdes Alcívar, at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Both national anthems were played, Herzog and Lasso reviewed an IDF honor guard and then sat down for the first diplomatic working meeting of the trip.
“For me, my wife and my delegation, it is a great honor to be here in Israel, a country that I have always particularly admired,” Lasso told the press on Wednesday. “I admire the Israeli fighting spirit, Israel’s great dignity and its development. In 74 years, with half of Ecuador’s population, you have reached an economy four times the size of Ecuador’s.”
Read More: JNS