Paraguay’s opportunities in the Asian market

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Within the framework of the eighteenth anniversary of the organization Development in Democracy (Dende), the international panel “Analysis of the Asia-Pacific geopolitical situation” was held with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Paraguay to improve planning and diplomatic management to take advantage of opportunities generated by the Indo-Pacific region.

According to Dende, Paraguay can take advantage of the economic opportunities generated by the Indo-Pacific region, so it is appropriate to improve diplomatic planning and management. For the organization, expanding Paraguay’s exports to the Indo-Pacific region is possible as long as beneficial agreements are reached and proactive work is done to open markets and trade negotiations of various kinds, they said.

Ken Jimbo, a specialist in international security and the Japanese Asia-Pacific region, during an international panel entitled “Analysis of the Asia-Pacific geopolitical situation: Opportunities and threats for Paraguay,” had stated that Paraguay could take advantage of these economic opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region, where a large part of world trade is concentrated, as well as half of the world’s population.

AUTO PARTS MANUFACTURING

Ambassador Estefanía Laterza, vice-minister of the Investment and Exports Network (Rediex), and Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, former foreign minister, who also participated in the international panel, agreed with this. On occasion, they pointed out that Paraguay demonstrated that it could be a regional manufacturing center for the world. Proof of this is that, amid the 2020 pandemic year, it registered a 36% growth in the manufacture of auto parts for the automotive sector.

In contact from Japan, Ken Jimbo explained to the entire panel the details of the origins of the Indo-Pacific concept and why it has become a region of strategic importance for the world’s major powers.

He emphasized the need to generate a balance of power against the predominance of China and the vision of promoting the idea of a free and open space and region, with respect for the sovereignty of the countries and where free navigation and respect for international rules and agreements are ensured.

PRODUCTIVE LINKAGES

He also said that the Indo-Pacific has become an enormous opportunity for the future of world economic success and is the epicenter of the geopolitical struggle, which is why the management of peace and stability is of fundamental importance for the region’s success.

“When Paraguay or Latin American member countries try to reach out to the region, I think it’s very good that they go through Asia; many of those relationships can be balanced, and there you create a win-win cooperation,” Jimbo said.

Estefanía Laterza, the vice-minister of the Investment and Exports Network (Rediex), pointed out that Paraguay has enormous opportunities to host productive chains in various sectors such as auto parts, textiles, among others.

DIVERSIFYING THE MARKET

“We have an opportunity to capture this displacement of value chains to other regions to join this trend and host industries that can generate parts of regional production processes that will improve the region’s competitiveness,” she said.

In this sense, she said that Paraguay must better plan its trade strategy and market intelligence, working jointly and proactively with its foreign service. In this sense, the country needs to improve its presence in the Indo-Pacific region precisely because of all the opportunities generated.

Laterza said that it is essential to understand that it is not only about China but also about the other countries in the region. Paraguay should have a more significant presence as a country searching for trade agreements with Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Likewise, she asserted that Paraguay should not bet on a single trade relationship and needs to expand and diversify the market.

“Learn to overlook some aspects, such as not having identical forms of government or shared values, but focus exclusively on commercial aspects in strategic terms,” she said.

SILK ROAD OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, former national Chancellor, indicated that China is expanding its investments in South America. Still, there is fear because it is becoming more and more influential and because the indebtedness produced in the development of the new “Silk Road” of the 21st century changes all geopolitics.

“China manages to unite countries that are identically autocratic, and the big problem is that the level of indebtedness of these countries is not sustainable for these countries and China is keeping the assets, and we have to see to what level and to what depth these actions are developed,” he explained, as well as he regretted that currently there are few markets to which the main Paraguayan exports go, so better trade agreements that generate new opportunities for the country must be sought.

He said that for Paraguay, it is a significant disadvantage not to be able to enter the Chinese market directly with its food exports. Therefore, Paraguay needs to compensate for this situation by negotiating better conditions for access to markets and foreign direct investment, moving away from the logic of “cooperation” based only on donations or very specific aid. He assured that Paraguay needs to improve predictability and education. “Paraguay needs markets, without handouts,” he said.

MARITIME ROUTE

According to Alberto Acosta Garbarino, president of Dende, the maritime route is vital for world trade. For Acosta Garbarino, the main maritime routes are the Indian and Pacific oceans because they allow the transport of oil from the Asian region and raw material from Africa. He assured that a free and open Indo-Pacific is fundamental and that security must be reinforced to guarantee this.

On her part, Nakatani Otsuka Yoshie, Ambassador of Japan, condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and assured that the fact should not be tolerated. In addition, she lamented that reality is occurring in the Indo-Pacific, which is receiving much attention as a broader geographical concept. This region is seeing an escalation of missile launches and other provocations by North Korea and activities that increase tension in the East and South China Seas.

WAR IN UKRAINE

“The situation in Ukraine is an issue that affects Europe and all of us. In that context, Japan is promoting the Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept, FOIP, an initiative to work together with allies and partners for peace and economic development with countries that share universal values such as the rule of law, democracy, a market economy, and freedom of navigation among others,” he said.

They said that Japan would continue to work closely with Paraguay as it is an important FOIP (Free and Open Indo-Pacific) partner in the international community. Yan Speranza, the moderator of the discussion organized by Dende and the Embassy of Japan in Paraguay, said that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine creates fear, mainly in the Indo-Pacific region and the role played by China, and the difficulties it represents in a region that accounts for 50% of world trade and population.

He added that it should be looked at with better planning and Paraguayan diplomatic management to take advantage of trade with the Indo-Pacific region. “This is the first presentation for us as a society to start thinking better about the strategies we need to follow to face this relationship with the Indo-Pacific, clearly understanding that this is the new world epicenter and that is where many of the issues that will define things on the planet will be developed,” he highlighted.

With information from La Nación