DOHA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador hopes to attract investment from Qatar and to enhance cooperation by setting up a large petroleum refinery in the Latin American country, Qatar's local media reported Monday.

The remarks were made by visiting Ecuador's Minister for Foreign Trade and Investments Pablo Campana Saenz Sunday evening during a meeting with local journalists.

The minister said that Ecuador aims to build a refinery with a production capacity of approximately 325,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).

''This petroleum refinery will be one of the largest foreign investments for the entire Latin America, totaling approximately 10 billion U.S. dollars," the minister said.

He mentioned there are three small existing refining facilities in Ecuador, with a capacity of 170,000 bpd.

"In April, a 25-member delegation of entrepreneurs from Ecuador will visit Qatar and a Qatari business delegation will visit Quito in June,'' the minister told the reporters.

Earlier on Monday, Saenz met with officials at Qatari Chamber and signed several agreements on facilitating trade, business and investment.

In 2017, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached 30.6 million Qatari rial (8.4 million dollars).

Last October, the Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa visited Qatar, the first time that an Ecuadorian head of state had done in 40 years of establishing diplomatic relations with Qatar.