The possibility of an agreement with the fourth world economy was anticipated by the Foreign Minister of Paraguay, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.
He Mercosur and Japan will begin next month with the negotiation process to sign a FTA (FTA), an agreement that, if finalized, could give impetus to the exports of Uruguay.
The start of talks in April was confirmed by the Foreign Minister of Paraguay, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, who in an interview with the Nikkei newspaper confirmed that the regional bloc seeks to open up to the Asian market, in its strategy to add more markets, given the freezing of the agreement with the European Union.
The leader of the country who currently holds the current presidency of the Mercosur He stated that the objective is to expand the exports of the agricultural sector to the Asian country, which is the fourth largest economy in the world.
Our sights set on Japan, China and the Asian market
The Paraguayan foreign minister also focused on trade relations with China, after the FTA that he proposed Uruguay and about which the president Luis Lacalle Pou maintained that Brazil and Argentina They “blocked” a possible agreement. “He Mercosur seeks more agreements with other Asian countries,” said Ramírez, after the FTA with Singapore signed in December.
In this regard, the Chinese ambassador in Uruguay, Huang Yazhongadmitted that the possibility of reaching a collective agreement with the bloc would be better than doing it alone with the country and assured that “among friends we can coordinate and study how we can deal with this matter well.”
For the government, another possibility is an FTA between Uruguay and China
Regarding the possible agreement with China, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries recently referred, Fernando Mattos, who did not rule out an FTA between countries, maintaining that “Uruguay It is a reliable country and that is recognized by the People’s Republic of China, that has a strategic vision about its food sovereignty and must feed 1.4 billion people.
In this regard, Mattos recalled that “the last visit to China “It was a success and we cultivated many common values, we have built a relationship of trust”, while defining: “We are a safe and reliable supplier.”
“Uruguay is ready to advance in an FTA and it will not affect the Mercosur”, indicated the leader, while pointing out that this idea points to “international insertion, one of the six pillars of the National Agricultural Development Strategy.”
Source: Ambito
