The President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, highlighted this Monday that one of the advantages that Paraguay has built as a society is the public-private commitment, allowing it to maintain solid economic policies, which translate into a “public good for the country.”
It was during his participation in the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit, which took place this Monday in New York City, United States.
Furthermore, the head of state commented that one of the advantages that Paraguay has built as a society is public-private commitment. He said that through talks, it is possible to reach an agreement to maintain sound economic policies, which ultimately turns out to be good for the country.
“Having an independent central bank that maintains a low inflation rate is a public good. It is not only good for bankers or people in the financial field. This is beneficial for the most vulnerable,” he stated.
He mentioned that these agreements have been achieved through dialogue between the public and private sectors, the latter being key to promoting the construction of public infrastructure in 2013.
And the advantages that Paraguay has is that, because we are falling behind, not because we did it wrong or because of financial prices, but because of what happened with the history of Paraguay, a 150-year conflict marked the development of Paraguay, a important period in time, he alleged.
“Now we can see what other nations have done right and wrong. We are taking the good experiences and implementing them in our country. So, 10 years have passed since the approval of said public-private partnership, it was the most advanced at the time, and we have several projects now that are working very well,” he assured.
Creating different sources of financing for public infrastructure is one of Paraguay’s biggest challenges, taking into account its status as a Mediterranean country but with a privileged location in the middle of South America.
“The waterway that connects five countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay crosses through the middle of Paraguayan territory. In addition, we have land transportation that consists of the shortest way to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic through the bi-oceanic corridor, which will connect the Port of San Paulo to the ports of Chile. And this is the shortest way, you can’t go the other way. These are the aspects that are giving Paraguay a good platform. We Paraguayans ourselves have to understand the potential that our country has,” he explained.
He highlighted the good relationship that is maintained with the United States
On the point, he declared that Paraguay maintains a very good relationship with the United States. «The problem we have, like all South American countries, is that we are so close to the United States, that sometimes we are very far away. One of the problems that Paraguay has is that we are not a problem. There are not many problems in Paraguay,” he mentioned.
“We have a great relationship and this has always been the case. “We are good friends, and our relationship with Taiwan is testament that we want to build and maintain long-term relationships,” she added.
Along the same lines, he pointed out that “we are not only looking for the economic balance, what I sell you or what I produce for you, but we are looking for long-term relationships. We have the longest dictatorship in South America, 35 years. We are a young democracy, and that is why we know the value of democracy, of freedom of expression. So these are the things we want to defend.”
Excellent ties with Taiwan are not in question
Regarding relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), he recalled that Paraguay is one of the 12 countries in the world that maintain relations with the island and “under my administration, there is no reason to discuss the relationship we have with Taiwan. And the reason is not because of the past, but because of the future,” she emphasized.
“Where Paraguay stands today economically, it is advancing rapidly, moving economically through agriculture and energy production, but also advancing industrially. Therefore, Taiwan’s experience, similar to that of Israel or South Korea, is ratified by more countries,” he stated.
He also admitted that compared to larger countries, it is much better to sell raw materials to China, given its enormous industrial capacity, which allows them to manufacture many products at very low prices. That is why, if we had diplomatic relations with China, we would only be exporting raw materials, he stressed.
“And what we want to do is possibly the most difficult but the right way, and we want Paraguay to reach the 10 billion consumers that we will reach in 2050 who are looking for food, water, clean energy, and in all those aspects, Paraguay “It is a rich country,” he finally stated.
Source: IP Agency news portal.
