-"The Korean development model, called the "Han River Miracle", is an emblematic example in the world": Paraguay Envoy
206th Anniversary message of the Independence of the Republic of Paraguay
by H.E. Irineo Rual Silvero Silvagni-Ed.
It is a great pleasure for me, as Ambassador of the Republic of Paraguay to the Republic
ofKorea to address the readers of the SEOUL CITY MAGAZINE in this special occasion. In
this year, Paraguay celebrates its 206th Anniversary of Independence. We pay homage
to the brave heroes, who on May 14 and 15, 1811, bequeathed us our great homeland.
And with it, they gave us the freedom to forge our own destiny, founded on the
conjunction of two great cultures, from Spain and the aboriginal people, called
Guaranies. This is the reason why Paraguay has two official languages, Spanish and
Guarani.Paraguay, as a country, in the middle of South America, with no sea coasts,
faces a number of specific challenges, typical of this geographic situation. In the last
years, Paraguay has implemented an active policy of diversifying its international
relations in the political, economic and commercial spheres. In this sense, our country
is strengthening its presence and protagonist in the Asian countries and in other
regions of the world. Its economic development increased steadily in the last years,
and this situation affected positively in the social area, with the poverty’s reduction and growth in the income of the people.
Paraguay Amb. Irineo Raul Silvero Silvagni (Courtesy: Embassy of Paraguay) |
In 2017, the Republic of Paraguay and the Republic of Korea celebrate their 55 years
of diplomatic relations. In this period, Paraguay has demonstrated its support for this
great Asian nation in the various multilateral forums, and fundamentally in the context
of the United Nations. Likewise, the Republic of Korea is one of the most important
strategic partners of Paraguay. We express our gratitude to the People and Government
of the Republic of Korea for its continuous cooperation actions, through the efficient
work of the Cooperation Agency of the Republic of Korea (KOICA), and other
institutions, in different sectors, particularly in the areas of health, education, vocational
training of human resources, rural development, technology transfer, planning and
construction of infrastructures. The Korean development model, called the "Han River
Miracle", is an emblematic example in the world, which the Paraguayan Government
takes into account for the implementation of its own policies.Paraguay and Korea,
although geographically distant, have a strong and close friendship relationship. For
this reason, I would like to remind that 52 years ago, the first group of Korean
immigrants arrived in Paraguay. As a tribute to that fact, every April 22, we
commemorate Koreas Day in my country. In Paraguay, more than six thousand Koreans
live and are active in our society, and many of these families are made up of
Paraguayan-Korean couples, who enrich and develop our country.
KICT visit with Paraguay delegation to forge MOU with Korea Institute of Civil Engineering & Building Technology. |
At present, Paraguay plays an active and prominent role in the international community.
And it is working at the regional and global levels to strengthen our bilateral and
multilateral relations, enabling us to meet the challenges of our own development,
such as poverty reduction, job creation, especially for young people, and technological
development. On the other hand, Paraguay gives a relevant role to the rule of law,
respect for human rights and a political system based on democracy.
Legal stability and respect for foreign and domestic investment are also one of the
fundamental axes of the state policy that the current Government imposes. The
Paraguayan government encourages the Korean companies, known for their passion
in work ethics, to aggressively explore the Paraguayan market and invest in my country.
The Korean companies have a great advantage when it comes to Paraguayan market
because of the following: First, the Korean firms were involved in the Paraguayan
market and have operational offices in Paraguay. Secondly, the Korean companies have
a good reputation in Paraguay because they undertook infrastructure projects and
other investments. Thirdly, Paraguay has a good image of Korean products since they
are more advanced technologically. There are many Korean investments in Paraguay
like the Samsung, THN Group, KBEC Korea, FAOH Group and others. It can be
mentioned that business cooperation between Korea and Paraguay is like a gold
mine, and the sectors of infrastructure, building, food industry, logistics and services,
textiles, clothing and garment production, auto parts and car accessories, and tourism
as the main ways that both countries can work together. And there is a friendly
business environment in Paraguay, an investor-friendly legal framework and efforts to improve infrastructure are key to Paraguay’s objectives to diversify its economy and within this context, the Korean companies
will find a suitable environment for their business opportunities. Paraguay sees Korea
as strategic ally in the building of its own development.
Paraguay map. (Courtesy: Embassy of Paraguay) |
In this context, we invite Korean businessmen to visit Paraguay and evaluate the
possibilities and opportunities of investment in our country, which has the appropriate
human resources and materials to develop competitive businesses worldwide. In
addition to its qualified young people, its fertile land, having a large freshwater reserve
and being a major producer of food and renewable energy, among others, our country
has tariff and non-tariff advantages for accessing its products in the countries of MERCOSUR, in the
ALADI bloc and in the European Union market, mainly through the Generalized System
of Preference Plus. The Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay in Seoul is working to
offer and export to the Korean market beef, leather of bovine origin, organic sugar,
stevia (Ka'á Jheé), sesame, chia, yerba mate, mineral water, soy, pork and chicken,
and others products.
In 2017, some Korean companies will participate in the International Fair on Trade
Industry Service and Tourism, to be held in the month of July, in the city of Mariano
Roque Alonso in Paraguay. This Embassy is planning to organize Trade and Investment
Mission from Korea to Paraguay during this year.
My respect and cordial greetings to all the readers of the SEOUL CITY MAGAZINE. I
hope that you can visit Paraguay. The Embassy of Paraguay in Seoul is open to bring
you any information about the country.
<Reception to mark 206th Anniversary of the Independence
of the Republic of Paraguay>
On the occasion of the 19th Presidential election, Republic of Korea, H.E. Moon Jae-in, it is very noteworthy to hear from one of Latin American countries from the
stand point of our government that Paraguay envoy Irineo Raul Silvero Silvagni mentioned:
"This year is a special one, as we celebrate 55 years of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between the Republic of Paraguay and the Republic of Korea,
whom we congratulate for the presidential elections. In this occasion, I would like t
o mention that the President of theRepublic of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, offered on
behalf of the Government and the people of Paraguay the sincerest congratulations
and wishes of the greatest success to President Moon Jae-In, wishing to further deepen the ties of friendship and cooperation.
Paraguay Independence Day reception to commemorate its 206th Independence surrounded by Diplomatic Corps. |
Apart from political arena, Silvagni touched upon the trade pillar representing a
significant milestone of both relationship. Even though trade had increased
throughout the years, there is an immense potential for business that can only be
seized through joint efforts from the public and private sectors. Today, Paraguayan
companies offer Korean consumers products of the rich Guarani land, such as stevia,
a natural sweetener, yerba mate, chia, sesame, meat products, charcoal, soybeans
and derivatives, leather, among other products, he said.
Concerning Paraguay's investment environment, Paraguay Amb. Silvagni
encouraged to invest into his country by saying : "Being one of the most open e
conomies and of greater return to investments, we invite Koreanand other Asian
entrepreneurs to discover the investment opportunities offered by my country.
There are many comparative advantages such as a young and skilled workforce,
fertile land -watered by a large reserve of fresh water that makes Paraguay one
of the largest food and renewable energy producers in the worldamong. Besides
the inherent qualities of its demographic composition and geography, the
investment climate is favored by incentive and protection laws, in addition to
tariff and nontariff advantages for market access to Mercosur member countries,
Latin American Association of Integration block, and the European Union
through the Generalized Scheme of Preference-PLUS."