On 22 June 2015, in Schaan, Liechtenstein, ministers
of Ecuador and the EFTA member states --Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland--
signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation (JDC). The objectives of the Joint Declaration
are to further enhance bilateral economic relations and to establish a framework for the
expansion, diversification and liberalisation of trade and investment. The Declaration
establishes a Joint EFTA- Ecuador Committee to review cooperation in areas referred to
in the Declaration, to discuss issues of mutual interest and to formulate recommendations
on any relevant subject by consensus.
A year later the signature of the JDC, on 27 June 2016, ministers of Ecuador and the
EFTA States formally announced the lanuch of free trade negotiations between Ecuador
and the trade bloc.
The first round of negotiations took place on November 14, 2016. The second round of
negotiations was in Geneva, Switzerland on February 23-March 3, 2017.
The third round of negotiations took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from July 3 to 6, 2017.
The fourth round concluded in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 13, 2017.
The fifth round of negotiation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement took
place in Geneva, Switzerland on December 11-15, 2017. Ecuador and EFTA expect to sign
the agreement in June 2018. Ecuador and EFTA signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) on June 25, 2018 in Sauđárkrókur, Iceland.
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