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Ecuador's Correa:To Push OPEC To Switch To Stronger Currency

QUITO (Dow Jones)--Ecuador will continue defending a proposal that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should uses a stronger currency than the U.S. dollar for its transactions, President Rafael Correa said Wednesday.

"This is an Ecuadorian thesis. Venezuela, Iran and other countries had supported it and we will defend our proposal," Correa said at a press conference after returning from a trip to Saudi to Arabia, China and Indonesia.

Correa also said that in the future he hopes to organize a common group, with countries like Bolivia and Argentina, against the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. (ICSID)

He said that Ecuador has "already had enough of being subjected to international bodies that try to work against our sovereignty."

Correa added that his government has reinforced commercial relationships with Asia, Europe and Brazil.

Speaking of the oil sector Correa said the government will give preference to state companies to do business and to create alliances.

He gave as an example, Chilean state-owned Enap as a company that could form an alliance for exploiting natural gas in Guayaquil.

He also mentioned state companies as possible partners for developing some marginal and mature oil fields in conjunction with Petroecuador.

"If we receive good proposals I will ask to the constituent assembly to award (contracts) directly," Correa said.

A constituent assembly, dominated by Correa supporters, will start work this week, aiming to write a new constitution. Correa, a left-leaning economist, took office earlier this year.

-By Mercedes Alvaro, Dow Jones Newswires; 5939-9728-653; mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2007 14:07 ET (19:07 GMT)


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