MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan official signs cooperation deal with non-existing country

Two men dressed in orange native costumes have been going around public offices for a few months in Paraguay

A high-ranking official within Paraguay's Agriculture Ministry was sacked from his post-Wednesday after signing cooperation agreements with the non-existent country of Kailasa, it was reported in Asunción.

Ministry Cabinet Chief Arnaldo Chamorro signed the documents on behalf of the Paraguayan government with Kailasa, allegedly on islands off Ecuador which also do not exist, despite which its representatives managed to participate in two sessions of the United Nations. Chamorro was replaced by Luis Miguel Paredes Vega.

On Oct. 17, representatives of Kailasa met with Minister Carlos Giménez to discuss cooperation, and Congressman Fidelino Morínigo signed a document recognizing the supreme pontiff of Hinduism, Nithyananda Paramashivam, as the sovereign of Kailasa. The Indian Hindu guru of the Advaita Vedanta doctrine, a self-proclaimed god, is wanted in India for sexual violence and other crimes.

The imaginary state is named after a mountain in the Himalayas, which is considered the abode of the Hindu god Shiva, and is said to have 2 million practicing Hindus as part of its population.

The new international fiasco was likened to a meeting held by former President Mario Abdo Benítez with a fake CEO of a Lamborghini car factory.

According to a document published by ABC, Chamorro recommended the Government of Paraguay to “actively seek the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States of Kailasa” and to support its admission in several international organizations, among them the United Nations.

The fake Kailasa delegates signed “sister city relationship” agreements with the municipalities of Maria Antonia (Paraguarí department, south) and Karapaí (Amambay, north), as well as with an external advisor to the Paraguayan Congress.

Chamorro is said to have “incurred procedural errors, by signing the alleged document without any authorization” because the Chief of Staff “has no competence for this type of procedure.”

Two men dressed in orange Indian native costumes have been going around public offices for a few months in Paraguay brokering meetings with authorities in Congress and other public buildings.

Social media were flooded with mockery and memes after the scandal.