Ecuador to support migrants returning from Spain

From People's Daily Online, July 18, 2007
Ecuador will develop a plan to support Ecuadorian migrants who want to return from Spain, helping them set up their own businesses, Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said Tuesday.

Fernanda, who accompanied Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa during last week's visit to Spain, told a press conference that the plan had been piloted by Spain's Emigration Ministry.

Ecuadorian emigration soared in 1999, when the nation suffered its worst ever financial crisis. Spain was one of the main countries to host Ecuadorian migrants.

The Ecuadorian plan aims to help citizens return home with the machinery and equipment they are currently using in their businesses overseas, and then help them set up businesses in their home country.

Fernanda said she would work with the customs department to work out strategies to reduce charges on the machinery.

Correa has described emigration as a "national tragedy" caused by bad policies applied by a variety of governments over the last 20 years.

Source: Xinhua