On Wednesday, Paraguay and Taiwan pledged to strengthen their economic partnership by promoting food exports to the island and the presence of Taiwanese companies in Paraguay, so that this becomes a platform for these companies for the Mercosur.
These two work areas were established at a new edition of the Conference on Economic Cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay, which was held in Asuncion and that was attended by the Minister of Economy of Taiwan, John Deng, and Paraguay's Minister of Industry and Trade, Gustavo Leite.
After the conference, Deng said that there was a commitment so that Taiwanese companies could establish their businesses and factories in Paraguay and gain market access to Mercosur, which is made up by Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Leite confirmed Deng's words and stressed that Paraguay's platform was available so that the Taiwanese companies could enter Mercosur and the world from here.
The minister also stated that they had agreed to promote the export of agricultural food products to Taiwan, which would be a first step to start selling food products to other countries in Asia.
In this sense, Leite stated that an official Paraguayan high-level delegation would be in Taiwan between May 16 and 18 to identify the five Paraguayan products with the greatest export potential and five products suitable for international distribution through Paraguay.
Deng, who is on an official visit to Paraguay, is leading a mission of Taiwanese businessmen that is looking to explore investment opportunities.
Paraguay is the only Taiwanese ally in South America and one of the 12 Latin American countries that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China.
The President of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes, plans to travel to Taiwan on May 20 to attend the inauguration of the new president, Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to head the island.
Source: EFE