RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On May 9, the governments of Paraguay and the US highlighted the importance of their “alliance” on different issues, among them the fight against corruption and security.
At the end of a meeting, the new Paraguayan foreign minister, Julio César Arriola, and the ambassador of Washington in Asuncion, Marc Ostfield, highlighted the joint work.
Ostfield told journalists that they spoke about the “importance of the alliance between Paraguay and the United States”.
“We are allies, friends, and partners. We want to continue our work together to strengthen the fight against corruption, for security here in Paraguay, in the region, and promote mutual and inclusive economic prosperity,” said the diplomat.
For his part, Arriola described the meeting, the first between the two officials since the new minister took office on May 4, as “excellent” and “pleasant”.
The head of the Paraguayan diplomacy emphasized that, besides corruption and terrorism, they talked about the economic reactivation of the country in the post-pandemic era, which he considered “fundamental”.
He indicated that they discussed markets and the country’s interest in exporting meat to the United States.
Arriola, 57, who served as ambassador to the United Nations, is the fifth head of Paraguay’s foreign portfolio during the government of President Mario Abdo Benítez, who took office in August 2018.
With information from EFE