The Diplomat
The President of the Republic of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, will pay an official visit to Spain on 3 and 4 November.
Abdo’s visit, which was scheduled for June 2019, had to be postponed due to the elections in Spain and, subsequently, the Covid pandemic prevented a new date from being scheduled.
Now, the Paraguayan leader, who is in the final stretch of his presidency, will finally arrive in Madrid, accompanied by his wife on the afternoon of the 2nd, and on the following day they will begin the official programme. Both will be received on the 3rd by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, who will invite them to a lunch at the Royal Palace.
Mario Abdo will also visit the Palacio de la Moncloa to meet the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to attend the signing of an agreement between the two countries in the field of tourism.
In the afternoon, he will visit the headquarters of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), in which Paraguay is a very active participant, currently chairing the Group of the Americas in the Council.
On Friday, the 4th, the Paraguayan head of state will attend a breakfast at the CEOE, which will be attended by Spanish authorities and businessmen, some of whom will explain how their investments in the South American country have gone.
Spain’s relationship with Paraguay is largely focused on cooperation, although in recent times economic exchanges and investment have grown, and Abdo wants his visit to serve to attract new Spanish investors. According to 2020 data, Spain is the leading investor in Paraguay, with 800 million dollars.
Furthermore, some 120,000 Paraguayans live in Spain. Although they represent the second largest colony of Paraguayan nationals in the world, after Argentina, they send the largest amount of remittances to their country.
In parallel to Mario Abdo’s programme, the Paraguayan First Lady, Silvana López Moreira, accompanied by the Queen, will visit the facilities of APRAMP (Association for the Prevention, Reintegration and Care of Prostituted Women), which promotes awareness in the fight against trafficking in women and works with victims of trafficking, some of whom are Paraguayan. She will also visit the facilities of ONCE, which is starting to work in Paraguay.
Doña Letizia and Silvana López already had the opportunity to meet during the Queen’s cooperation visit to Paraguay a year ago.
Paraguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Julio Arriola, described Abdo’s visit as very important and “strategic”, during which, he said, they will address issues on the international agenda, as well as the bilateral agenda, including development cooperation. “Spain has been involved in Spanish cooperation in Paraguay for more than 30 years and has a budget of approximately 142 million euros”, the minister recalled.
