Asunción, IP Agency.- The Minister of Economy and Finance, Carlos Fernández Valdovinos, pointed out that the productive and industrial diversification of Paraguay is one of the keys for the country to reach the levels of development it projects and at the same time be able to drastically reduce persistent levels of poverty.
In his presentation about Paraguay and the degree of investment recently achieved, at MacroWeek2024 organized by the Peterson Institute, Minister Fernández cited the keys that allowed Paraguay to experience notable macroeconomic growth in the last two decades, while mentioning the existing challenges looking to the future.
“Twenty years ago it was practically in default and ten years ago Paraguay did not exist in international markets,” said the minister to mark the starting point of Paraguay’s current development.
He indicated that, fundamentally, macrostability was the key to success, along with the construction of institutionality.
In this sense, he mentioned the measures adopted to ensure monetary and banking stability, in addition to the adoption by law of a responsible fiscal policy.
Regarding future challenges, the minister stated that “the key to the future is a strong and diversified economy” with the main objective of “improving people’s quality of life.”
What matters is the people and although in this period the country improved the social conditions of its population, it is still unacceptable that there is close to 20% poverty in a country that produces food for 100 million people, said the minister.
In this sense, he said that the Government’s objective is to promote productive diversity, doing new things to stimulate the development of more sectors of Paraguayan society.
«Last week for the first time we exported tomatoes to Argentina and this week we are exporting onions. “We are doing new things in order to boost our growth,” the minister said as an example.
He also highlighted that the promotion of maquila has allowed Paraguay to enter the Brazilian market through an item that today is responsible for 10% of the country’s total exports.
«If we continue on this path, the maquila is going to be the largest export item. “We are going to continue being good in the areas in which we export now but we are going to diversify our economy,” he added.
Likewise, he referred to the investment attraction policy promoted by the Government, mainly in areas other than agriculture. At that point he mentioned the decision to promote the participation of the private sector in the generation of sustainable energy beyond the hydroelectric source.
Finally, he stated that another of the keys to the development of Paraguay is its own people, which is why the Government is investing in crucial sectors such as health and education, in addition to security and social protection, through the resources allocated in the budget. annual
“We will not be satisfied until we see those poverty numbers drop to single digits,” the minister said.
International relations
Regarding Paraguay’s policy of linking with the world, the minister indicated that the country wants to have commercial relations with all countries, and when consulted particularly by China, he stated: “we have no problems trading with China, but they do not want to condition us our diplomatic relations.
He also said that Mercosur has been positive for Paraguay and that the country is enthusiastic about advancing free trade agreements with other regions and countries, through Mercosur.
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