Ecuador's foreign policy goals under the Borja government in the late 1980s were more diversified than those of the Febres Cordero administration, which closely identified with the United States.
[2] Ecuador has offered humanitarianian aid to many countries, is a supporter of the United Nations, and currently contributes troops to the UN mission in Haiti.
The two sides maintain high-level political contacts and exchanges in trade, economic progress, science, technology, culture and education.
In September 2012, the two nations signed a Commercial and Security Agreement to allow Ecuador to sell easily seafood, cocoa and bananas in China, with the Chinese agreeing to ease tariffs on further food items.
[107] Furthermore, he suggested that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez recently gave the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia $300 million.
[109] On November 16, 2008, the Foreign Minister of Ecuador Maria Isabel Salvador met her counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, with a close relationship in oil and defence between these geographically distant countries high on the agenda.
The boundary dispute led to the Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru in early 1995; after a peace agreement brokered by the four Guarantors of the Rio Protocol (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the United States), the Military Observers Mission to Ecuador-Peru (MOMEP) was set up to monitor the zone.
In 1998, Presidents Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador and Alberto Fujimori of Peru signed a comprehensive settlement over control of the disputed zone.
Relations between the United Kingdom and Ecuador were traditionally regarded as "low-key but cordial", especially before the election of Rafael Correa; the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited the country in 2009, as part of a tour celebrating the bicentenary of Charles Darwin.
[127] In 2012, relations became strained when Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London and sought asylum.
Assange had lost legal appeals against his extradition to Sweden where he was wanted for questioning about alleged sexual assault and rape, but while within the embassy he was on diplomatic territory and beyond the reach of the British police.
[128] The United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office delivered a note to the Ecuadorian government in Quito reminding them of the provisions of the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 which allow the British government to withdraw recognition of diplomatic protection from embassies; the move was interpreted as a hostile act by Ecuador, with Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño stating that this "explicit threat" would be met with "appropriate responses in accordance with international law".
In reaction, the British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, thanked Moreno for his cooperation to "ensure Assange faces justice".
[131] The United States and Ecuador used to maintain close ties based on mutual interests in maintaining democratic institutions; combating cannabis and cocaine; building trade, investment, and financial ties; cooperating in fostering Ecuador's economic development; and participating in inter-American organizations.