Political relations between Ecuador and Germany go back a long way. The most important issues in the two countries’ relations are development cooperation, environmental policy, trade and investment and the dual system of vocational training.

Development cooperation resumed in September 2017 following a temporary interruption. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit to Ecuador in February 2019 served to build on this and intensify bilateral relations.

Of Germany’s political foundations, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Hanns-Seidel Foundation, the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung currently have offices in Ecuador.

Within the European Union, Germany is one of Ecuador’s most important trading partners. It is currently in third place among the 27 member states. Germany exported goods worth 533 million euro to Ecuador in 2021 and imported Ecuadorian goods worth 290 million euro.

Since 1977, Quito has been home to a German-Ecuadorian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. As well as its Embassy, Ecuador maintains an Institute for Export and Investment Promotion (PRO ECUADOR) in Germany and has had a Consulate General in Hamburg since 1993. Its accession to a multiparty trade agreement with the European Union on 1 January 2017 injected considerable momentum into bilateral economic relations.

Germany is one of Ecuador’s largest bilateral donors in the context of development cooperation. The most recent bilateral intergovernmental negotiations on development cooperation were held virtually in November 2020; in 2021, Germany pledged additional support to help fight the pandemic. Pledges in 2020/21 total 121 million euro. The priority areas of German-Ecuadorian cooperation are the environment and natural resources; biodiversity and forest conservation; peace and societal cohesion; good governance and migration; and climate, sustainable urban development and mobility.

The main intermediaries in cultural exchange between Germany and Ecuador are the Humboldt-Gesellschaft/Goethe-Zentrum in Quito, the German-Ecuadorian Cultural Centre in Guayaquil and the German schools in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca.

Cooperation at university level is promoted primarily through short-term research scholarships, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarships and lecturer exchange programmes.

Information about German development cooperation with Ecuador can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.