A screenshot photo of the article published by ABC Color (Photo: VNA)

This newspaper wrote that Vietnam is a potential market for Paraguay's trade, especially in terms of such agricultural products as soya bean and meat.

It cited Gimenez as affirming at a meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on May 24 that the visit aimed to promote and assist with a visit to his country by a Vietnamese business delegation to step up cooperation chances and bilateral trade.

Paraguay is striving to seek and expand new markets for its soya bean, meat as well as other products, especially members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 700 million people, including Vietnam, according to the official.

During the visit, Gimenez also had working sessions with Vietnamese enterprises, including Viettel – a major telecommunications group in Southeast Asia.

The Paraguayan minister emphasized the need to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and Vietnam. He said holding the rotating presidency of Mercosur in 2024, Paraguay will strongly promote this issue, ABC Color reported.

Paraguay is one of the 10 largest trade partners of Vietnam in Latin America, with bilateral trade topping 280 million USD in 2023, a 22.2% increase year on year. Vietnam mainly exports coffee, sports shoes, electric fans, rubber, bamboo and rattan items, ceramic products, and apparel to Paraguay while importing soya bean powder, beef and by-products, leather, and timber.