Paraguay and Chile reviewed the main issues on their bilateral agenda on Tuesday during a meeting between their Foreign Ministries, the first after the pandemic and after President Gabriel Boric came to power.
Source: EFE
In Asunción, the delegations headed by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Raúl Silvero, and the Secretary General of Foreign Policy of Chile, Alex Wetzig, met to attend the VII Meeting of the Permanent Mechanism for Political Consultation and Coordination between the Foreign Affairs Ministries.
Asked about the meeting, Silvero told EFE that they reviewed the Free Trade Agreement signed with Santiago in December 2021 and with which both countries seek to increase their trade.
In addition, they talked about the progress of the works of the Bi-Oceanic Corridor, a highway project that will connect the Brazilian port of Santos, in the Atlantic Ocean, with Chilean terminals in the Pacific (Antofagasta and Iquique), through Paraguayan and Argentine territory.
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Silvero stressed that Paraguay’s investment in this road infrastructure exceeds 1,200 million dollars.
In this context, he stressed that the authorities of Iquique and Antofagasta “They are very committed and very active in developing all kinds of physical connectivity with Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.”
On the other hand, he pointed out that they addressed the energy area and, specifically, the Chilean experience in the development of green hydrogen and electromobility.
The vice minister assured that The Chilean mission also consulted on the situation in Mercosur and the vision of Paraguay at the request of Uruguay to adhere to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
“Paraguay is a country that is open, and that wants to negotiate with several regions of the world, several countries, but it seems to us that we must do it in a consensual manner,” said Silvero, indicating that his country considers it important “respect the established rules” in Mercosur. EFE
