PARAGUAY |
New markets. President Lugo began his tour on 8 March in Vietnam, where he met President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi. He was accompanied by the foreign minister Héctor Lacognata, the trade and industry minister, Francisco Rivas, agriculture and livestock minister, Enzo Cardozo, and a trade delegation. Lugo marketed Paraguay as a “Country of Opportunities" - the same message Lacognata took to Russian businessmen, industrialists and investors in St Petersburg last June [WR-0-23]. Russia is the principal market for Paraguayan exports of meat products, but Lugo is seeking new markets for the country's agricultural products, and to attract foreign investment. In addition to strengthening bilateral relations, Lugo travelled in his capacity as rotating president of Mercosur, although his objective of deepening bloc-to-bloc ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) received a setback when his planned visit to Indonesia fell through.
Lugo will head on to Taiwan on 11 March for a week-long trip. He will seek to extract a better import quota for Paraguayan beef (currently just 8% of total beef sales in Taiwan) and more investment when he meets Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou. Paraguay remains the only country in South America that still recognises Taiwan and has not signed up to Beijing's “One China" policy.
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