There is an important Ecuadorian colony in Spain that has grown to half a million persons since 1998.
Although Ecuadorian immigrants were benefited most with the regulatory plan set up by the Zapatero government, there are still many with irregular situations in spite of stricter immigration controls.
Official policy is to prevent arrival of immigrants without proper documentation and the president has stated that this population movement must be done according to economic needs of the country and through work contracts.
The Ecuadorian president also plans to have several meetings with compatriots in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
In two days Correa will meet with King Juan Carlos and Rodriguez Zapatero before going on to Barcelona.
Regarding the economic issue, the president will study development of these relations with Zapatero and other official authorities and the means to improve them even when the trade balance is favorable for Ecuador for the fourth consecutive year.
Official figures reveal that, in 2006, Spanish investment was approximately 147.2 million dollars with a participation quota of 7.0 percent.
Ecuador's Correa Tours European Countries
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa began on Tuesday his first official tour of Europe, where the situation of immigrants from Ecuador will be a priority issue to be analyzed with his hosts.
Correa planned to meet the Spanish head of government Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and the King and queen Juan Carlos and Sofia, also with the purpose of strengthening the bilateral relations.
According to a presidential note, the South American country´s president will visit Barcelona on July 12, and Valencia the following day, to talk and fraternize in both occasions with Ecuadorian residents there.
The Ecuadorian head of State will travel to Milan, Italy, on July 14, to hold several meetings with immigrants from his country.
Together with the United States, Spain and Italy are the main destinations of Ecuadorian legal and illegal migrations.
Only in Spain, there is one million South Americans of Ecuadorian nationality, and half of them do not have legal identification papers.
No comments:
Post a Comment