SEOUL, KOREA - Nicolas Trujillo, Ambassador for the Republic of Ecuador started his interview with Korea IT Times referring to an oil spill accident near Yeosu comparing it to a similar painful experience for Ecuador.
"We have read the recent news about the oil spill of 164,000 liters of oil in waters near Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. This incident turned out to be 200 times bigger than originally stated by officials, and has had negative repercussions both for the area residents, as well as for top government officials. How does this compare to the oil spill of 60 billion (with a B) liters dumped in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador" Ambassador Trujillo said.
Oil was first discovered in Ecuador by Texaco (now owned by Chevron, who also owns 50% of GS Caltex in Korea) in 1967, and quickly became a boon to the national economy of Ecuador as foreign oil companies began flooding in and implementing large-scale extraction projects.
"What the people and the government of Ecuador did not know at the time, and only discovered decades later, was that these foreign companies were in many cases using inferior technology while adhering to lower environmental standards than they had in other, more developed countries.”
Ambassador Trujillo said "Environment and people of Ecuador were devastated by these double standards" describing "The people of the Amazon region in Ecuador, primarily poor indigenous communities, suffered for years, and in many cases have still yet to recover. The litigation from this case, to provide reparation to the environment and the victims, is still today being addressed in international courts"
"Billions of gallons of toxic sludge, far in excess of the amount of oil spilled at Yeosu incident or even the BP Gulf disaster, polluted our lands, communities, and rainforests" he added.
Ambassador Trujillo emphasized the importance of the promotion of efficient energy, the development and use of environmentally clean practices, and technologies such as renewable, diversified energies with a low environmental impact.
"We must not forget our responsibility to protect the safety of our citizens and environment. We cannot sacrifice our long-term health for short-term profit. Uniform standards for safety and technology must be implemented around the world.
Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, an economist with a PhD, is also carrying out policy to invigorating the economy while preserving the environment.
Ambassador Trujillo said "The president of Ecuador is the only leader in Latin America with a PhD. and thanks to his leadership, today Ecuador has been growing the wealth of our nation, not just in oil exports, but also in non-oil exports"
He stressed the importance of education to achieving self-sustained growth with no fear of destruction of the environment.
”As we consider a high quality education and continuous personal development to be the pillar of the development model of our country, it is clear that Korea is an excellent teacher of how to advance our society through education."
He went on to say, "We have an excellent relationship with the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) and SONGDO, who are cooperating with the government of Ecuador toward the construction of the first Knowledge City in Ecuador, and an example for the Latin American region integrating Academic, Industrial, Research, Planned Community and Free Economic Zone in a city called Urcuqui, near Quito, the capital of Ecuador."
He praised Korean companies doing business in Ecuador as a good example of knowledge transfer and the creation of jobs.
"Not only is Hyundai/Kia at the top of vehicle sales in Ecuador, but 65% of all SUV’s in the country are the Tucson model of Hyundai, 65% and in recent consumer brand value research, polling showed that LG is considered the second most valued brand in the country, second only to Coca Cola," he said.
The ambassador expected a balanced trade situation will be created if the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is signed between Korea and Ecuador.
"The enormous challenge that we have is that Korea has not yet provided Ecuador with the opportunity to offer Koreans our flagship products without facing major tariff barriers that other countries in the region do not have to endure,” Mr. Trujillo said. "We have been advised that the Korean government hopes to begin the process of elevating this study from “academic” to “official” which we believe will open the door to scheduling the next steps in the process of reaching a trade agreement between our two countries.”
