Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez yesterday said the friendship between his country and Taiwan would never change and that Paraguay would forever remain Taiwan’s loyal ally in South America.
Asked about his country’s commitment to Taiwan amid a rash of defections by allies in Latin America and the Caribbean to China, Abdo Benitez told a news conference in Taipei that Paraguay has business relations with every country in the world, but that was no reason to abandon its allies.
“We won’t sacrifice our ties with any of our allies or good friends” over business relations with another country, he said.
Photo: EPA
“We firmly believe no country in the world can restrict our sovereign decision to make friends with another country,” he added.
Paraguay has had diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1957 and is its only ally in South America among its 17 worldwide.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, Taiwan has lost five diplomatic allies, including three in the Central American and Caribbean region: Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
Paraguay can serve as a gateway for Taiwanese businesses to the huge South American market, which has a population of 400 million, and to the North American market, Abdo Benitez said.
Paraguay’s economy has been growing at a rate of at least 4.5 percent annually for the past 20 years and it has an excellent investment climate and stable social order, he said.
With its tax incentives and sound legal protections for foreign investors, Paraguay is encouraging Taiwanese businesses to invest there, he said.
After more than 60 years of diplomatic relations, Abdo Benitez said he hopes to further enhance bilateral relations so that the two sides could become strategic partners to their mutual benefit.
Taiwan is renowned for its technological advancements, while Paraguay’s main exports are agricultural products, he said, adding that the two countries complement each other and are a perfect match.
Abdo Benitez, his wife, Silvana Lopez Moreira de Abdo, and a Paraguayan delegation are in Taiwan on a six-day visit at Tsai’s invitation to attend Wednesday’s Double Ten National Day celebrations.
In an address at an honor guard ceremony in Taipei on Monday, Abdo Benitez said the trip was like a “homecoming,” because his family has close ties to Taiwan.
His father, Mario Abdo Benitez Sr, served as private secretary to former Paraguayan president Alfredo Stroessner, and helped forge diplomatic relations with Taiwan 61 years ago.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face