Ricardo Scavone
Ambassador of Paraguay in Spain
Luis Ayllón / Alberto Rubio
“In 2020 Spain was the leading foreign investor in Paraguay”, says Ricardo Sciavone, a few days before the official visit of President Mario Abdo Benítez. The Paraguayan ambassador stresses that his government’s objective is to give new impetus to economic relations with Spain, strengthen educational collaboration and cooperation, and reaffirm the commitment to the system of Ibero-American summits.
What does Paraguay expect from President Abdo’s state visit to Spain?
The purpose of the visit is, firstly, to bear witness to the importance that Paraguay attaches to the bilateral relationship with Spain and to its role as a bridge between the Ibero-American countries and the European Union. And also to promote our growing bilateral economic and trade relationship.
In addition, there are other very relevant current components in our relationship. I am referring, for example, to the 120,000 Paraguayans living in Spain. They have not only found work opportunities but also very significant personal development opportunities and, although they are our second colony abroad, the first being in Argentina, they are the ones who contribute the largest percentage -60%- of family remittances to Paraguay. It is a colony that contributes a lot to the country’s economy.
A year ago, the Queen made a visit to your country focused on cooperation. Has there been a boost to this cooperation this year? Have new areas of action been detected?
The country partnership framework is still in place. The Queen’s visit was intended to give visibility to Spanish cooperation in Paraguay. But there are also new areas that are emerging, for example, AECID is going to cooperate in a development project in the Pantanal, within the framework of sustainable tourism. In addition, there is notable cultural action through the Juan Salazar Centre, the first established in a Spanish-speaking country in 1976, which is a true reference point for cultural events in Paraguay.
The important thing about Spanish cooperation, which we value highly, is that it is not pre-established, but rather seeks to understand the country’s needs, although it also has priorities such as access to water, social inclusion and women’s rights.
Two years ago, Spain and Paraguay signed the Framework Association Agreement that will be in force until the end of 2023. What can be done to ensure that Paraguay is not only seen as a place for cooperation, especially in disadvantaged sectors, but also as a country of opportunities for Spanish companies?
Apart from cooperation, for a long time we have been developing actions to present trade and investment opportunities, such as the one we are going to have this week at the CEOE. Last year we already had a presentation by the Minister of Industry and Trade, and this time it will be the President himself who will participate. We are trying to get Spanish companies to talk about their experiences in our country, which is our best endorsement.
Although it is true that Spanish investment in Paraguay is important, it is still small compared to the investment made in Latin America as a whole. But there are opportunities to strengthen it. To this end, we have an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and we are at an advanced stage in the negotiation of the agreement to avoid double taxation. In addition, we have a system of investment incentives that has advantages even within Mercosur.
In which sectors are there opportunities for Spanish investors?
In many sectors. There is already greater Spanish investment in public infrastructure, where the state is making a very important effort. But in addition to roads and bridges, investment is also being promoted in sanitation, water treatment, construction, alternative energies, solar energy. Sectors such as components for the automotive industry and services, in which Prosegur and Mapfre are already involved, have been developed. We would like to get the Spaniards more enthusiastic about tourism because they have enormous experience that could be very useful to us. And, of course, in agriculture there are also many opportunities.
How can Spain contribute its experience in tourism in Paraguay, where there are such attractive destinations as the Jesuit missions?
During the President’s visit, we are going to renew the cooperation agreement on tourism. We are interested in encouraging Spanish investment in the hotel industry and the development of circuits. Paraguay has great potential for rural, ecological and adventure tourism. And I have already mentioned Spain’s participation in the development of tourism in the Pantanal.
What is the impact of the increase in frequency of Air Europa flights to Asunción?
Air Europa currently has a direct Madrid-Asunción route that is complemented by a flight to Córdoba, in Argentina. There are 5-6 frequencies per week and we hope that soon we will be able to have a daily flight. It is a very convenient flight because it takes 11 hours from Madrid and 10 hours from Asunción, which makes it very easy to connect Paraguay with Europe, not only for tourism but also for business trips.
Twenty years after the start of negotiations between the EU and Mercosur, do you think it will be possible for all countries to ratify the agreement by 2023?
Yes, ratification is pending, although the negotiations have already been substantially concluded. It is of great importance for Paraguay, as well as being beneficial for both regions. We are confident that with Spain’s impetus we will make progress in the short term.
Will it be during the next Spanish presidency of the EU?
Hopefully sooner, but the Spanish presidency is a time when we think that this issue can have greater momentum and concreteness.
Paraguayan politics does not give the impression that populism has any place. How have you done this
Paraguay has been building its democratic institutions since 1989. That year saw the end of 34 years of dictatorial military rule. One characteristic of our system is the existence of a two-party system. This provides peace of mind and predictability in terms of electoral processes and prevents the emergence or strength of options outside the political system. At the same time, for 25 years, Paraguay has taken measures that make its economy predictable, with fiscal discipline and prudent monetary management, which has allowed us to achieve sustained economic growth for two decades with very low inflation. All of this has given us a greater capacity not to suffer so much from the ups and downs of our immediate environment.
Unfortunately the pandemic has been a very strong blow. We had a debt of 22% and we are very worried because we have risen to 30%. We had never gone above 5% annual inflation and now we have reached 8.9%. Fortunately we have managed to control it, but we had the fear of reaching double digits. In any case, we prefer our neighbours to be fine. Because it can happen to us too. Nobody is vaccinated.
