INVITATION TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

UNCLAS QUITO 000507 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EC SUBJECT: INVITATION TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION 1.(U) The Embassy has received the official invitation for heads of state to attend the August 10 inauguration of President Rafael Correa. The text of the circular note follows. (Begin text) The Directorate General of State Ceremonies and Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, and Integration presents its compliments to the Diplomatic Missions and to the Representatives of International Organizations accredited in the Republic of Ecuador and has the honor to inform them that on Monday, August 10, 2009, the inauguration ceremonies for the Constitutional President, Economist Rafael Correa Delgado, will take place. The Directorate General of State Ceremonies and Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, and Integration carries out its duty of communicating, through this circular note, the invitation from the Government of Ecuador to the Heads of the State and Heads of Government from friendly countries and to the highest officials of International Organizations that have Ecuador as a member, in order to attend the Presidential inauguration ceremonies and the Bicentennial of Ecuador's First Cry of Independence, or on the contrary, to designate Special Missions, of the highest level, to join the Ecuadorian Head of State in the previously cited celebrations. Information about different activities and ceremonies that have been scheduled, and about protocol, logistics, security, and press details related to this celebration will be released as soon as possible through the Ministry website (www.mmrree.gov.ec). The invitation letters signed by the President of Ecuador to the respective Heads of State and Heads of Government and to the Representatives of International Organizations will be sent in due course. The rule of precedence that will be applied to the foreign delegations attending these ceremonies will be in accordance with the date on which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is notified about the official delegation that will attend the ceremonies, taking into account the level and rank of the person that leads the delegation. Delegations that are not led by the Heads of State or Heads of Government must be accredited through the presentation of credentials addressed to the President of Ecuador. The inauguration ceremonies for the Constitutional President, Economist Rafael Correa Delgado, have special significance in Ecuador's history as the first President who has been reelected in the first round, in elections carried out on April 26, by a majority of the Ecuadorian people for a new presidential term, and because on August 10 Ecuador commemorates the Bicentennial of Ecuador's First Cry of Independence. The Directorate General of State Ceremonies and Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, and Integration avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the honorable Diplomatic Missions and Representatives of International Organizations the assurance of its highest consideration. Quito, June 22, 2009. (End text). HODGES