Signing of agreements for execution of projects financed under the Ecuador-Spain Debt Swap Program

June 17, 2009

Quito, June 17, 2009. This Wednesday, June 17, 2009, the signing of the agreements for the execution of the projects of the second stage of the Ecuador-Spain Debt Swap Agreements under the Bilateral Agreement for the Conversion of Ecuador’s Foreign Debt with the Kingdom of Spain will take place in the salons of the Presidency of Ecuador.

The signing ceremony will be attended, on behalf of Spain, by its Ambassador and the Representative of its Commercial Office in Ecuador and, on behalf of Ecuador, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the ministries and secretariats responsible for executing the projects. Representatives of the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) will also attend in CAF’s capacity as the Committee’s Technical Secretariat.

The Bilateral Agreement for the Conversion of Ecuador’s Debt with the Kingdom of Spain, for a total of US$ 50 million, was signed on March 14, 2005. The purpose of the agreement is to channel the resources that would otherwise have been allocated to payment of the debt to financing development actions that will make it possible to improve the living conditions of the country’s high-risk populations.

The first stage of the Debt Swap Program started on October 2006, with the approval of the first tranche of US$ 20 million. The funds were allocated to financing programs and projects in the education sector via 22 projects with nationwide coverage. To date, 87% of the funds committed have been executed and a total of 222,794 pupils have been given access to teaching materials and new equipment in schools with improved infrastructure. In addition, more than 8,000 teachers have been trained under agreements with several universities, more than 300 classrooms have been built, and more than 1,800 items of computer equipment have been handed over.

The seven agreements signed today mark the start of the second stage of the Debt Swap Program and will permit the execution of seven development programs amounting to a total of US$ 30 million. The projects in Stage Two have been designed and developed by public institutions in accordance with the National Development Plan and the social investment objectives established therein. These projects will make it possible to improve the living conditions of more than 1.5 million people who live in the provinces on the northern border, in the highest risk areas of the coast, and in the provinces with the highest migration indicators.

Projects financed with funds from the Ecuador-Spain Debt Swap Program:

  • ”Comprehensive Water-Sanitation Solutions Program”: Implementation of 35 technical comprehensive water and sanitation solutions in the cantons in the northern border area. Executed by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing.
  • “Millennium Education Units”: Construction and equipment of four Millennium Education Units and improvement of 36 satellite schools in the northern border area. Executed by the Ministry of Education.
  • “Strengthening social protection in the area of health for the overall development of the population in the Ecuador’s northern border provinces”: Implementation of a comprehensive health model by strengthening the local provision of services, improving the infrastructure of first and second level units, forming basic health care teams on the community level, and implementing an integrated information system. Executed by the Ministry of Health.
  • “National housing network for migrants and their families in Ecuador”: Setting up a Migrant Housing Network in eight provinces with high migration levels for providing psycho-social and legal support services. Executed by the National Secretariat for Migrants (SENAMI).
  • “Neighborhood Schools”: Fitting out 20 schools in El Cañar Province and 130 schools in marginal shanty areas in the south of Quito with technological equipment. Jointly executed by the National Secretariat for Migrants and the Ministry of Education.
  • ”Accompanying business initiatives, REDIEM”: Setting up a network of offices for accompanying, advising, and financing entrepreneurial initiative. Executed by the National Secretariat for Migrants.
  • “Design and construction of multifunctional safe schools”: Construction and equipping of 60 shelter modules in 30 schools and risk management training for teachers and the community. Executed by the Ministry of Education’s National Services Division (DINSE).

Execution of these projects will take two years.

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