The visiting president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, vowed Friday to provide full support for South Korean companies investing in his Latin American country through various tax incentives and administrative support that will ensure the safety of the companies and their investment.
The Ecuadorian president also said his country hoped to learn from South Korea's experience of economic development, which he said was truly a
miracle.
"Still, economic development is never (just) a miracle. There is always something that makes it possible and I am here to find out what that is,"
the economist-turned-president told a seminar for South Korean investors.
Correa, 47, arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit. He earlier stressed the need for economic cooperation between his country and South
Korea in a summit with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak.
The president of Ecuador noted his country may have been unattractive to foreign investors because of its long history of political and social instability, but that it was "changing dramatically, but positively."
"Ecuador has secured a great driving force based on its new constitution.
And the country has established the optimum condition for production and it can now bring its new opportunities to the international market," he said through an interpreter.
Correa said his country recently enacted a special law on manufacturing that allows the government to completely exempt any new foreign investors or companies investing outside of the country's capital of Quito from taxes for up to five years.
Ecuador currently imposes 25 percent income tax, but he said the
government was considering lowering the tax to 1 percent for companies investing in the country's special economic zones for up to three years.
"I will sincerely welcome any of you if you decide to come to Ecuador. We will provide you with the same kind of warm welcome and hospitality you have provided us during our visit here," he said.