Containers at Hải Phòng Port, VIệt Nam.

BUENOS AIRES — Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Commerce Javier Gimenez has expressed his hope to expand economic cooperation with Việt Nam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a whole.

During a recent working session with Vietnamese Ambassador Ngô Minh Nguyệt and the Ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in Buenos Aires, he affirmed that Việt Nam and Paraguay hold huge cooperation potential in the areas of economy, trade and investment.

He briefed the ambassadors on Paraguay’s economic and trade activities, attraction of foreign investments as well as trade cooperation potential with ASEAN member states.

Statistics from the Paraguayan Ministry of Industry and Commerce showed that trade revenue between Việt Nam and Paraguay reached US$240 million in 2023, of which Việt Nam’s exports were worth nearly $110 million, and import $130 million.

During the 2021-23 period, Việt Nam shipped telephones and components, footwear, garment and textile, automobile tyres and electronics to Paraguay while importing soybeans, meat meal, cotton, frozen beef and corn from the country.

According to the World Bank, Paraguay’s economy grows at a faster pace than the Latin America’s average thanks to its macro-economic stability and a favourable exernal environment. Last year, its gross domestic product (GDP) growth hit 4.7 per cent, the highest in the region.

Paraguay, a member of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) together with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, offers various tax incentives with the lowest average rate in the South American region. — VNS