Fander Falconi Sworn
In As New Ecuadorian
Foreign Minister
QUITO - Noted economist
Fander Falconi was sworn
in as Ecuador's new
foreign, commerce and
integration minister by
President Rafael Correa
on Monday.
Falconi, who headed the
national Planning and
Development Secretariat
till Monday, replaced
Maria Isabel Salvador,
who resigned last week.
One of the founders of
the ruling Country
Alliance movement,
Falconi was the third
foreign minister to be
sworn in in less than
two years of Correa's
administration.
The appointment of
Falconi, an economist
specializing in
environmental issues and
external debt, came on
the heels of Correa's
declaration of a
moratorium on the
payment of part of
Ecuador's debts on the
grounds that his
government considers
some of the debts
illegitimate.
Falconi would also have
to face the rupture of
diplomatic relations
with Colombia and the
cooling of ties with
Brazil.
Ecuador filed an
international lawsuit
last month to suspend
payments on a loan from
Brazil's national
development bank, BNDES.
It alleged that the bank
gave the money to
Brazilian firm Odebrecht
to help Ecuador build a
hydroelectric dam that
malfunctioned one year
after delivery.
The Brazilian government
has expressed great
concern on the issue,
saying further economic
cooperation would be
affected, and recalled
its ambassador to
Ecuador.
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