National Assembly of Nicaragua PRESS RELEASE; On Thursday, November 16th, 2023, Nicaragua’s legislature ratified the China and Nicaragua Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua.
“The National Assembly of Nicaragua unanimously approved the Legislative Decree of Approval of the the agreement which will develop investment, economic growth and commercial exchange of a fair and equitable nature based on absolute respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of both peoples.”
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PRESS RELEASE from the Government of Nicaragua;
Laureano Ortega Murillo, the Presidential Advisor for the Promotion of Investments, Trade and International Cooperation spoke on behalf of the Government of Nicaragua.
“The signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Nicaragua and China will mark a before and after for the Nicaraguan people. It opens the doors to a huge market and will allow us to connect with the companies and entrepreneurs of this sister country,” said Ortega Murillo.
“We are convinced that this will generate economic and social benefits for Nicaraguan families, new investments, the creation of more jobs and the transfer of technologies from China to Nicaragua. It will also provide the opportunity for a greater presence of China in Nicaragua and we reiterate that Nicaragua must be considered by China as a commercial platform for the entire Central American region,” he added.
In that sense, the Presidential Advisor mentioned that they welcome companies and businessmen from the People’s Republic of China who will be provided with all the facilities and incentives contemplated by Nicaraguan laws to invest in the country and promote commercial exchange.
He pointed out that the relations between both countries are based on mutual respect and recognizing each other as allies and strategic partners, and this is the only way to explain why they have managed to complete the FTA negotiations in just one year.
“Both governments and people have recognized the importance of strengthening commercial exchange as a fundamental piece to solidify ties of cooperation and friendship. We thank on behalf of the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega Saavedra and the Vice President of the Republic of Nicaragua Rosario Murillo, the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China for the attention that they give to the relationship with Nicaragua,” he stated.
He also thanked the Foreign Minister of China who has been promoting the negotiation process together with colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Minister of Commerce of China, Wang Wentao and the Vice Minister Wang Shouwen and the team of the Ministry of Commerce of China for their continued work and effort, as well as the entire Nicaraguan negotiation team, led by the Minister of Development and Commerce, Jesús Bermúdez and supervised by Iván Acosta the Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
For his part, the Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China stated that the signing of the FTA is the result of the diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua under the personal attention and leadership of the two Presidents and the mutual trust of the two countries that It has been growing from substantial cooperation, it has advanced at high speed and at a high level, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
“It is another example of this substantial high-speed, high-level cooperation. Since China and Nicaragua began FTA negotiations in July 2022, it has only taken one year to finalize the negotiations and achieve a high-level and very beneficial result in several aspects,” he said.
“The China and Nicaragua Free Trade Agreement is an important initiative to implement the consensus of the leaders of both countries and constitutes an important event in the history of trade relations between the two countries,” said Wentao.
He added that China always firmly supports the independent attention of the Nicaraguan side to a path that it develops in accordance with its national conditions and firmly supports Nicaragua’s social and economic development, development strategies and will take advantage of the FTA as an opportunity to organize mutual and beneficial cooperation of trade and investments between the two countries.
“Today we have signed the China-Nicaragua FTA, which constitutes an important milestone in the history of bilateral economic and commercial relations. When the Agreement enters into force, it will provide better functional situations for economic and commercial exchanges and will firmly promote bilateral cooperation,” he said.
Likewise, Laureano Ortega Murillo at the end of the signing expressed: “We reiterate our deep gratitude to the people of the People’s Republic of China for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, we commit to carrying out the corresponding actions for its entry into force in January 2024. Today in Nicaragua we are illuminated by a sun that does not decline and shines stronger in the light of the signing of this agreement that fills us with hope and optimism, we feel strengthened and we are certain that from now on we will see the fruits of this work with the greater presence of Chinese brothers in our country that will promote economic and social development on the path to prosperity.”
“Today we celebrate this great milestone, convinced that together, Nicaragua and China will manage to lead our people to prosperity, eradicate poverty and work for a shared destiny for humanity. Long live the brotherhood between Nicaragua and China! ”he concluded.
Source; El Ministro de Hacienda y Crédito
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