The President of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, began a official visit to Taiwan, from February 14 to 18, where he will develop an important agenda with different sectors related to commercial, technical and cultural exchange with this sister Asian nation.
This is the last official visit of President Abdo, and perhaps of any Paraguayan President, in the event that the ruling party prevails in the upcoming elections. The candidate Efraín Alegre has already expressed his intentions to break relations with Taiwan and get closer to the People’s Republic of China.
At the Taipei Air Terminal, Abdo Benítez was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, Joseph Wu, national authorities and the staff of the Diplomatic Representation accredited in this country.
In this regard, a meeting is scheduled between President Abdo and the Taiwanese President, Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, where they will discuss different issues on the bilateral agenda, with a view to continuing to strengthen the historic ties of friendship and cooperation, with more than 65 years old. In Taipei the President will also participate, along with President Tsai Ing-wen, as keynote speakers at the Women’s Empowerment Forum.
In this regard, the First Lady, Ms. Silvana López Moreira, and the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Engineer Luis Alberto Castiglioni, will also participate as panelists in discussions of this important event, whose main mission is to highlight the results of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, in terms of support for women entrepreneurs, as well as SME entrepreneurs, whose incidence in our economy is increasing.
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Likewise, President Abdo will be the main speaker at an Investment Conference, in which he will present the strengths and commercial opportunities that Paraguay offers for businessmen and representatives of Taiwanese companies, in order to attract capital and investment to the country and increase exchanges. commercial and economic with that Asian nation. On this occasion, Paraguayan pork will be tasted for the first time in Taiwanese territory. On this point, it is important to highlight that the opening of the market in this country occurred at the end of 2022 and the first export shipment is scheduled to arrive in March of this year.
On the other hand, President Abdo will take the opportunity to meet and talk with the hundreds of young Paraguayans who have received scholarships from Taiwanese universities, who, after completing their studies, must return to contribute their knowledge and experiences to the development of the country. On this matter, he will make an important announcement with reference to the students of the Taiwan Paraguay Technological University, since from this year they will be able to carry out their work internship, established in their curricular plan, in factories in Taiwan, which will favorably affect their education as they will be able to acquire direct knowledge from high-tech establishments.
He will also give the young people an image of the Virgin of Miracles of Caacupé, a replica of the one located in the Basilica, made by the Carmelite sisters, donated by a group of parents of scholarship holders, for their student children on the island.
This visit also aims to support Taiwan, highlighting Paraguay’s position as an ally and that it has supported its incorporation into the international system of nations and in different organizations, given the great contributions that this country can offer to the world due to its its progress in various areas and currently being a Beacon of democracy on the Asian continent. Paraguay and Taiwan share common values of freedom, justice, rule of law and democracy, which makes them zealous defenders of International Law and the universal democratic principles that govern our coexistence in the world.