Roundup: Ecuador completes maritime border demarcation with Colombia, Costa Rica

Ecuador announced on Friday the completion of maritime border demarcation in the Pacific Ocean with Colombia and Costa Rica at a ceremony held on the Galapagos Islands.

The presidents of the three countries signed a definitive and coordinated maritime border agreement, on which negotiations have been on and off since 1978.

In an event broadcast live on the presidential website, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa presented his counterparts with updated nautical maps.

"We celebrate the definitive demarcation of our maritime border with our neighbors Colombia and Costa Rica. It seems paradoxical that, after 200 years of existence as a republic, we can finally declare that our borders are definitively established," he said.

The document also outlined the countries' exclusive economic zones, over which they have sovereignty.

In the light of the agreement, Ecuador's maritime territory is now 5.3 times larger than its land surface, according to Correa.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said "it is very positive for countries to have secure and clear borders. We can work together to enjoy the borders instead of having them as a topic of debate. There are many more possibilities when we cooperate in harmony."

During the ceremony, Santos announced that Colombia would expand the Flora and Fauna Sanctuary of Malpelo Island in the Pacific from 6,763 square km to over 27,000 square km.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said his country would expand the protected waters of the island of El Coco by another 10,000 square km.

"We do this as a homage to the universal effort to protect our seas," said Solis. Endi