MIGA, MINURCAT,
MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Benigno GALLEGOS Chiriboga
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200
FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver,
Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans,
New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Heather HODGES
embassy: Avenida Avigiras E12-170 y Avenida Eloy Alfaro, Quito
mailing address: Avenida Guayacanes N52-205 y Avenida Avigiras
telephone: [593] (2) 398-5000
FAX: [593] (2) 398-5100
consulate(s) general: Guayaquil

Flag description:

three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red
with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag;
similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear
a coat of arms

Economy
Ecuador

Economy - overview:

Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which
have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings
and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In
1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP
contracted by more than 6%, with a significant increase in poverty.
The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its
external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a
series of structural reforms that also provided for the adoption of
the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy,
and positive growth returned in the years that followed, helped by
high oil prices, remittances, and increased non-traditional exports.
From 2002-06 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in
25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in
2006. In 2006 the government of Alfredo PALACIO (2005-07) seized the
assets of Occidental Petroleum for alleged contract violations and
imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to
the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These
measures, combined with chronic underinvestment in the state oil
company, Petroecuador, led to a drop in petroleum production in
2007. PALACIO