His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s tour in a number of countries in South America continues with a visit to the Republic of Paraguay, the third stop following two successful visits to Ecuador and Peru.
The tour, which also includes the fourth and final stop in Argentina, builds on the previous two trips to the continent in 2015 and 2016.
They are a reflection of the Amir’s commitment to establish new partnerships for Qatar in dozens of vital sectors with those countries.
Amir’s visit to Paraguay is a big step towards enhancing ties between the two countries and peoples, as it opens the door for new partnerships in the economic and commerce fields.
There will also be strategic investments that could cross the borders of both countries in the food product sector, as that sector has all the requirements to establish broad and strong partnerships.
The Amir’s meetings with Paraguay’s President Horacio Cartes and senior officials will focus on bilateral relations and exchange of views on various regional and international issues of joint interest.
This reflects the commitment of the Amir to opening new scopes for the Qatari economy, to serve its 2030 National Vision, in addition to building the strongest ties with countries from all over the world.
Qatar and Paraguay set up ties in 2002, when the permanent representatives of the two countries to the United Nations in New York signed a joint statement on establishing diplomatic ties.
Qatar’s embassy in Asuncion was established in 2012. and Paraguay opened its embassy in Doha two years later.
Relations between the two countries have been witnessing an exchange of visits from leading officials.
His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani paid an official visit to Paraguay in August 2010.
The Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Paraguay ambassador Alejandro Hamed Franco visited Qatar in 2009.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met in September last year with President Cartes at the headquarters of the Permanent Delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The President expressed his happiness with meeting the Amir. He also expressed hope that the meeting would be repeated.
They discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them during the meeting.
On February 11, 2018, HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani met with Paraguay’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Gustavo Leite.
During the meeting, they signed an agreement to promote and protect mutual investments between the two countries.
They also discussed bilateral relations and the scope for enhancing co-operation, especially in economic fields.
In May the two countries Foreign Ministry officials held political consultations in Asuncion.
The Qatari side was chaired by HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Paraguay Federico Gonzalez chaired the Paraguayan side.
The two sides discussed bilateral relations and the means to enhance them and a number of issues of mutual interest.
Qatar and Paraguay have a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding.
This include an agreement on economic, commercial and technical co-operation, an agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investments between the two countries, and a memorandum of understanding for consultation between the two foreign ministries.
Paraguay is a landlocked country located in the middle of Latin America between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.
It has an area of more than 400,000sq km, with a population of about 7mn, with the Paraguayan River running through it from North to South.
In recent years, Paraguay has come to the fore, with many of its economic successes being cited as a regional success story.
When world commodity prices fell in the past decade and destabilised the neighbouring economic giants Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay’s stable economy and government fiscal policies helped overcome the crisis and maintain sustainable growth.
Average annual GDP growth for the last decade was 4.8%, driven by strong agricultural exports, hydroelectricity and a rapidly expanding industrial base.
The key to Paraguay’s economic success has been to diversify the country’s economic base beyond its traditional dependence on agricultural exports, boosting industrial activity to 9.5 % of GDP in 2017.
Forty-seven percent of the people are engaged in agriculture.
Paraguay’s land is one of the most fertile areas for agriculture in South America.
Paraguay’s strong economic growth is based on several factors, foremost of which are commodity exports, the world’s fourth-largest exporter of soybeans and the sixth largest source of maize, one of the world’s largest hydropower producers, one-fourth of which is generated by one of the world’s largest dams, the Itaipu dam, jointly owned and operated by the governments of Paraguay and Brazil.
The country’s GDP last year was about $68bn, the export value was $11.5bn and the main exports were soybeans, fodder, cotton, edible oils, timber, leather and gold.
The government has identified four areas as key economic engines for growth.
They are the exporting of food products, building new factories, transforming Paraguay into a regional logistics hub, and promoting investment in forests and green energy.
Paraguay currently produces food for 80mn people, mostly meat, corn and soybeans.
But the government plans to triple that figure, making Paraguay one of the world’s major food baskets.
Currently, it exports about 300,000 tonnes of beef annually to 73 markets around the world.
According to economic reports, foreign investors are following Paraguay’s economic developments and flocking to them as a result of convincing incentives including tax breaks, the possibility of full restoration of capital and profit, and equal rights for foreign investors and local firms.
