USTDA, Ecuador Partner on Infrastructure Procurement Best Practices

Arlington, VA - The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is hosting a delegation of Ecuadorian public procurement officials through July 30 as part of a deepening partnership to support Ecuador's development of high-quality, resilient infrastructure. The study tour is the latest component of Ecuador's comprehensive procurement assistance program under USTDA's Global Procurement Initiative (GPI), a partnership that was first announced by the White House in December 2022. The study tour will focus on international best practices for obtaining best value in government procurement.

While in the United States, the 18-member delegation from Ecuador's National Public Procurement Service will travel to San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, DC, for meetings with federal, state and local government procurement counterparts, multilateral organizations, U.S. private sector organizations and academia. USTDA will also host trainings tailored to Ecuador's self-identified needs.

To date, GPI has trained than 450 Ecuadorian public procurement officials through in-person and virtual instruction. Future GPI programming is expected to include a simulation of a procurement lifecycle, as well as three training sessions on life-cycle cost analysis for senior leaders and ICT procurement.

Launched in 2013, USTDA's GPI trains public officials in emerging economies on how to establish procurement practices and policies that integrate life-cycle cost analysis and best value determination in a fair, transparent manner. GPI helps partner countries acquire high-quality, long-lasting technologies, while building smart, sustainable infrastructure with overall savings to their government. These procurement methods also open markets to greater international competition. GPI leverages the expertise of its institutional partners and collaborators, which include universities, multilateral development banks and government entities.

The study tour supports U.S. government priorities including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity and Americas RISE for Health.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Paul Marin | [email protected]