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.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Paraguay Friday agreed in Dubai on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Summit (COP28) to “seek opportunities” for the highway due to link the port of Santos, in Brazil, with the Chilean ports of Arica and Iquique. Former Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has dubbed the initiative “the small Panama Canal.”
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.
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.
President Santiago Peña met on Tuesday with members of the Paraguayan community in Italy to discuss the situation of the South American expatriates. During the meeting, Peña stressed the importance of his country projecting an image of solid and transparent institutions that would lead to economic growth.
Banana producers in Paraguay and Bolivia have agreed to resume shipments to Argentina after the outgoing administration of President Alberto Fernández authorized the use of foreign currency to pay for those imports.
Argentina's future government of President-elect Javier Milei intends to privatize the Paraná Paraguay Waterway and bidding documents have already been drafted, but collecting tolls would remain in place, it was reported Thursday in Buenos Aires. Future Infrastructure Minister Guillermo Ferraro is said to have been working on the issue for weeks.
The Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) lowered its benchmark interest rate from 8.50 to 7.25%, for a cumulative reduction of 1.25 basis points so far this year, in response to an encouraging macroeconomic scenario and positive international economic indicators. The decision was made after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) late Wednesday, it was reported in Asunción.
Paraguay's Agriculture Minister Carlos Giménez said Wednesday that he was seriously doubting there was such a thing as climate change. There have always been droughts and floods in Paraguay, he pointed out in a broadcast interview in Asunción.