The Embassy of Ecuador in Berlin

Amb. Veronica Augusta Bustamante Ponce

Amb. Veronica Augusta Bustamante Ponce was born on 22nd May 1958, and is married with two daughters. She has been in the position of Ambassador of Ecuador to Germany since 6th December, 2021.

Throughout her career, she has worked for the Ecuadorian Foreign Service from 1985. She occupied positions in the following offices in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Quito: Department of Multilateral Economic Policy; General Directorate of Asia, Africa and Oceania; General Directorate of Integration; Office of the Bilateral Undersecretary; Technical Cabinet of the Economic Undersecretary; General Directorate of Cultural Relations; General Coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Deputy National Coordinator of Summits.

Since 2004, she has served in the following positions: General Director of Cultural Promotion; General Director of Environment; Diplomatic Coordinator at the Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador; Coordinator of International Affairs before the National Assembly; Director of Neighborhood Relations and Sovereignty and Director of North America.

Abroad, she served in the following positions:
1989 – 1992: Embassy of Ecuador in Mexico;
1996 – 2001: Embassy of Ecuador in Switzerland;
2004 – 2010: Consul General of Ecuador in Montreal, and Representative of Ecuador to the International Civil Aviation Organization;
2012 – 2013: Consul General of Ecuador in Montreal;
2014 – 2015: Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York;
2015 – 2016: Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris;
December 6, 2021: Presentation of Letters of Credence accrediting her as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador to Germany

She speaks French, English, Italian and German.

Ecuador-Germany political relations go back a long way. The main issues addressed during recent bilateral visits, in both directions were based on economic topics, development cooperation, environmental policy and drug control. There have been regular high-level visits from both sides.

Besides the frequent high-level visits, the political bond between these countries is also strengthening  due to the fact that there are German political foundations with offices in Ecuador, like, for example, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

At an economic level, Germany is one of Ecuador’s principal trading partners in the EU, as well as the most important exporter of goods to Ecuador.

Concerning developing cooperation with Ecuador, Germany is one of the biggest bilateral donors. The last meeting held on this topic happened in Quito in November 2014, and focused on environment protection, natural resources protection, public administration, and economic reforms. From September 2015, projects to protect the environment and conserve natural resources in the Amazon region have started.

When it comes to cultural exchange, the main intermediaries between Germany and Ecuador are the Humboldt Society/Goethe Centre in Quito, the German-Ecuadorian Cultural Centre in Guayaquil, the German Schools in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca and, since 2008, two partner schools in the Quito metropolitan area. Also, there is a German cultural association called “Red Cultural Alemana”, which works together with the German Embassy, organizing a wide-ranging cultural programme, as well as coordinating all German institutions engaged in the cultural sector in Ecuador. There are also some exchange programmes promoted to Ecuadorean university students, to have the option to study in Germany.