Last week, the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, held a protocol meeting with his colleague Luis Arce, ministers and private business.
Bolivia and Paraguay promote commercial and economic integration due to their links and logistical complementation.
The ambassador of Paraguay in Bolivia, Terumi Matsuo, announced a public-private meeting between Bolivia and Paraguay in Asunción.
Last week, the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, held a meeting with his Bolivian colleague, Luis Arce, accompanied by ministers and private businessmen, within the framework of a bilateral agenda.
Both leaders agreed to reaffirm the ties of brotherhood and agreed to deepen the economic and commercial sphere. During the meeting held in the Casa Grande del Pueblo (La Paz), Peña reported that the bilateral agenda was reviewed and also the “great challenges” that both countries have.
For his part, Arce praised the bilateral meeting with his Paraguayan counterpart, since it takes on “greater significance” due to the issues that were addressed as economic projects regarding business and investment.
Matsuo declared for the Bolivian newspaper La Razón that the meeting between presidents took place after the Paraguayan president asked him, in December 2023, to coordinate a meeting with his highland counterpart.
“He told me that he wanted to see the president (Arce), and this happened quickly,” he said.
He recalled that 85% of the commercial flow of the Guaraní country with the rest of the world passes through the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway, which it shares with Bolivia. The waterway is characterized by the execution of a river engineering project aimed at creating a channeled navigation system along the courses of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers.
The main objective of this project lies in the route for the constant traffic of shallow draft vessels, but with high loading capacity, with a focus on the transportation of minerals, fuels and agricultural products as the main merchandise.
Matsuo assured that his country seeks to take advantage of Bolivia's resources, such as liquefied petroleum gas, urea, cocoa or quinoa. “Bolivia has enough to export.”
Also, he reported that the presidents of Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) and Patropar agreed to facilitate the import of diesel from their country. “Through Paraguay, we are providing diesel to Bolivia,” he said.
For his part, the president of the Federation of Private Businessmen of La Paz, Rolando Kempff, proposed, in the broadcast, the integration of businessmen from Paraguay and Bolivia. In addition, he highlighted the construction of a bridge over the Paraguay River.
This bridge will be part of the so-called Bioceanic Route, which connects by road to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile, and is considered “vital” for Brazil, in particular.
Kempff indicated that Bolivia has floating barges, which allows it to navigate downstream and reach the Atlantic Ocean through overseas ports and, in this way, reach the external market.
Likewise, he considered that Bolivia's link with the region through Mercosur will allow the development of the export of products such as quinoa, cocoa, salt, fertilizer and iron not only in the Paraguayan market, but also to Brazil and Argentina.
