Envoy: Foreign Pressures Unable to Harm Ecuador's Ties with Iran http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9002315002

Ecuador's incoming envoy to Tehran said his country's foreign policy prioritizes relations with independent states like Iran, and stressed that his country will never bow to the pressures exerted by the opponents of the Tehran-Quito ties.   Speaking in an interview with FNA in Quito prior to his departure to Tehran, Bicente Blis stressed that when it comes to the ties with Iran,

the Ecuadorian government doesn't pay attention to the negative propaganda and pressures imposed by certain foreign countries."We want to consolidate political relations with Iran."In area of economy, we are seeking to reconstruct and create a proper structure for mutual cooperation with Iran," the diplomat explained.He praised Iran's independent policies, and stated, "The foreign policy priority for the government of Ecuador is brotherhood and unity with friendly countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"We want to demonstrate that Iran has friends in the American continent, and we have planned and regulated our cultural, political and economic ties accordingly," the diplomat reiterated. In April, Ecuador's National Assembly Speaker Fernando Cordero Cueva underlined his country's resolve to boost ties with Iran. 

Those who oppose close ties between Iran and Ecuador have launched a propaganda campaign aimed at marring the positive relations between the two states, Cueva stated in a meeting with Iran's Energy Minister Majid Namjou in the Ecuadorian capital city of Quito. "But this negative propaganda cannot prevent the expansion of ties between Iran and Ecuador," he added. Iran has in recent years expanded friendly ties with Latin America, specially in economic, trade and industrial fields.