Paraguay's focus? Promoting external relations in Mercosur

By BKM | Berkemeyer

On December 5, 2019, Brazil handed over the rotating presidency of South American trade bloc Mercosur (Southern Common Market) to Paraguay. During a ceremony at the bloc's 55th summit in the southern Brazilian city of Bento Goncalves, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro expressed confidence in his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and his leadership skills.
"Your leadership will be highly valuable to the bloc at this time of so many challenges," said Bolsonaro. "Brazil trusts in greater open trade as a tool for development. We cannot waste time, we need to carry out the reforms that are making Mercosur more vital, without ideological delays," he added.

Relations within the bloc, which gathers South American countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, have been strained by the changing political landscapes in member countries, but Paraguay will work towards strengthening internal relations to better promote the bloc outside of the region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) of Paraguay reported on a December 2019 press release that Ando Benítez government “will seek to move forward in the conclusion of ongoing negotiations with countries such as Singapore, Canada, the Republic of Korea and Lebanon, in the framework of the important effort of Mercosur states parties to establish last-generation trade agreements”.

Mercosur’s V Round of Negotiations for an agreement with South Korea will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, from February 10 to 14, 2020. Issues that will be addressed are trade-related intellectual property rights, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade facilitation, commercial defense,
services, investments, public purchases and dispute resolution.