US Southern Command chief four-star General Laura Richardson landed in Asunción Monday evening to participate in the celebrations of 80 years of military cooperation and to strengthen the security ties between the United States and Paraguay.
The city-state of Singapore and a leading business and financial hub in Asia finally signed a free trade agreement with Mercosur during the South American countries summit held in Rio do Janeiro. It is Mercosur's first deal with a Southeast Asian nation.
“There is no Mercosur where only some people do well,” said Paraguayan President Santiago Peña on taking up his new role within the bloc, which in his view is bound for “great achievements.” Peña underlined that, globally, Mercosur faced four challenges: access to water, food security, energy sufficiency, and resilience in logistics chains.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva finally confirmed he would not be attending Javier Milei's inauguration despite last-minute efforts by Argentina's future Foreign Minister Diana Mondino who failed to undo the badmouthing the Libertarian leader made during his campaign.
The two leaders of the largest economies of Latin America and Europe met in Berlin on Monday to try and conclude a cooperation and free trade agreement between the South American block and the European Union which has been on the table for over two decades.
The European Union's Commissioner who was due to attend the Dec. 7 Mercosur Summit in Rio de Janeiro to sign the trade agreement between both blocs has canceled his trip, it was reported Sunday. According to the Financial Times, Valdis Dombrovskis shall not be attending the event, which in addition to announcements in Buenos Aires and Brasilia coupled with further negative statements from French President Emmanuel Macron, would amount to the end. at least for now, of the much-heralded agreement.
Brazil who is handing the Mercosur rotating chair to Paraguay during a ceremony and regional summit in Rio do Janeiro next 7 December´, is working overtime to finalize important milestones for the trade block during its presidency, among which discussions with UAE, closing a deal with Singapore, making official Bolivia's incorporation and equally outstanding even possibly signing the definitive agreement with the European Union.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held a telephone conversation this week with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during which he insisted on his country's commitment to finalizing the trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur while he held the rotating presidency of the northern alliance. The deal would unite 800 million people and represent a quarter of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If things go on as projected, Mercosur would obtain duty-free access for 93% of its exports to the EU, with a 10-year deadline to achieve this goal.
Paraguayan and Uruguayan health authorities have been reported to be taking preventive measures regarding a possible outbreak of equine encephalomyelitis.
Brazil's Senate Tuesday greenlighted Bolivia's accession to the South American Common Market (Mercosur) as a full member of the bloc. Once President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva enacts the bill, the regional alliance will once again consist of five full members -in addition to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay- as it once happened when Venezuela was admitted but later suspended in 2017 for its undemocratic practices.