(ANSA) - Milan, October 28 - Expo 2015 was the first year that Ecuador had its own pavilion at a world's fair, and the results are in: 900,000 visitors and "direct exports totaling 12 million dollars" said Victor Jurado, director of Pro Ecuador, the national institute for export and investment promotion, on Wednesday.
    Jurado, who travelled from Quito for a series of meetings at the conclusion of Expo, said relationships with Italian and European importers were also established over the six months of the fair, "which in the medium term will have a multiplier effect".
    "We took advantage of Expo to establish a series of B2B events dedicated to the main exports from Ecuador, like bananas and fresh fruit, but also services and technology," Jurado said, adding that another aim was to attract investments and raise awareness regarding concessions that Ecuador offers to European investors.
    Jurado said the pavilion's enviable position between Expo's main streets the Decumano and the Cardo helped visibility, especially given the pavilion's colorful exterior, made up of thousands of colourful chains designed to look like the fabrics of the indigenous Otavalo people of northern Ecuador.
    "'Ecuador Love Life' is our national motto, and 'Buen Vivir' inspires principles and values that are found in all fields, from politics to economy to production," Jurado said.
    "At Expo we managed to represent them and transmit them, and the people understood".