Bilateral Brief

Embassy of India
Asuncion
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BILATERAL BRIEF ON INDIA-PARAGUAY BILATERAL RELATIONS

Political Relations 

Diplomatic relations between India and Paraguay were established in 1961. The Embassy of India in Asuncion started its operations on 27 January 2022. Before the opening of the resident Mission in Asuncion, Embassy of India in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was concurrently accredited to Paraguay and had an Honorary Consul General in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. The Republic of Paraguay opened its Embassy in India in March 2006 and now has Honorary Consulates in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Bilateral Interactions

2.        At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, the President of Paraguay, H.E. Mr. Santiago Peña Palacios, paid a State Visit to India from 02 to 04 June 2025. He was accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade, members of Parliament, the Governor of the Department of Amambay and other senior officials. In addition to New Delhi, President Peña visited the city of Mumbai.

3.         External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India, Dr S. Jaishankar, paid an official visit to Paraguay from 21 to 22 August 2022 to inaugurate the newly opened Indian Embassy in Asuncion. EAM and Foreign Minister (FM) of Paraguay, H.E. Amb Julio Cesar Arriola, jointly inaugurated the Embassy of India in Asuncion. EAM also met H.E. Mr Mario Abdo Benitez, the then President of Paraguay.

4.         Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, paid an official visit to Paraguay from 5-7 March 2019 - the senior-most visit from India to Paraguay since establishing diplomatic relations. The Vice President was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Minister of State for Tourism, Shri K.J. Alphons; Member of Parliament, Shri R. K. Kashyap and senior Government officials.

5.         The then President of Paraguay, Mr Fernando Lugo, visited India in May 2012, accompanied by Paraguayan Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture & Animal Husbandry and Commerce, besides senior officials.

6.         EAM held a telephonic conversation with the then Paraguayan FM, Mr Antonio Rivas Palacios, on 30 April 2020, during which he conveyed India’s decision to gift medicines and protective gear to Paraguay to support the country in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. On 25 August 2020, the gift was formally handed over to the Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay, Dr Julio Daniel Mazzoleni Insfran, in a virtual ceremony.

7.         A telephonic conversation was held between EAM Dr S. Jaishankar and Paraguayan FM Mr Euclides Acevedo Candia on 11 March 2021, subsequent to which the Government of India sent a gift of 200,000 doses of the Made in India Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to Paraguay. The doses were received at Asuncion in two lots of 100,000 each on 29 March and 25 April 2021. Later, 400,000 doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech were delivered on 12 November 2021 to Paraguay.

8.         EAM met the then-Paraguayan FM on the sidelines of the 74th UNGA on 26 September 2019 in New York.

9.         Ministerial-level visits between the two countries have taken place from time to time. Paraguayan Minister of Tourism, Ms Sofía Montiel de Afara, visited India to attend the World Tourism Day celebrations on 30 September 2019 and met the Vice President of India and Minister of Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel. Smt Meenakshi Lekhi, MOS visited Paraguay from 2-4 November, 2023.

10.       A Paraguayan Parliamentary Delegation visited India in 2010, and an Indian Parliamentary Delegation visited Paraguay in 2012.

11.       Paraguayan Vice Minister of Armed Forces (Protocol equivalence: MoS), H.E. General (R) Angel Javier Cristaldo Navarro, led a four-person delegation to participate in Aero-India 2023 from 13-18 February 2023. Earlier, Vice-Minister of Defence of Paraguay, Colonel Dr Gladys Arsenia Ruiz Laconich, visited India in October 2022 to participate in DefExpo 2022.

12.       Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries have been institutionalized by signing an MOU in 2002. The first round of Foreign Office Consultations was held in Asuncion in October 2010, the second in New Delhi in August 2015, and the third in December 2021 in Asuncion.

13.       The then Acting Minister of Health Dr. Hernan Martinez participated in the virtual Session of “Voice of Global South Summit 2023” titled: “Cooperation to Build Resilient Healthcare Systems” chaired by Hon’ble Health Miniter Shri Mansukh Mandaviya on 13 January 2023.

14.       Mr. Rodrigo Maluff, Vice Minister of Investments and Export Networks (REDIEX), Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Paraguay participated in the Commerce/Trade Ministers’ Session on ‘Global South and Resilient Supply Chains’ hosted by CIM Mr Piyush Goyal, held in virtual format on 17 November 2023.

Economic and Commercial Relations

Bilateral Trade

15.       For the fiscal year 2024–25 the India–Paraguay bilateral trade stood at approximately USD 168.01 million (Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India). India’s exports to Paraguay were valued at USD 142.99 million, while Paraguay’s exports to India reached USD 25.02 million. (data available till December 2024). The main export items of Paraguay to India are soya oil and related products, iron and steel, aluminium, and animal products. Main export items from India to Paraguay include motor vehicles, agrochemicals, auto parts and pharmaceutical products

Trade statistics according to MOCI (Values in US$ Millions):

16.     Paraguay is a member of MERCOSUR. An India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was concluded on 25 January 2004 and became operational in June 2009. Preferential duty (10-20 % in most cases) is given to certain Indian Products entering MERCOSUR countries and vice versa. India offers an additional 10% margin of preference to Paraguay for a Tariff Rate Quota of imports of crude soybean oil up to 30000 MT/year.

Investments and Joint Ventures

17.       UPL is selling agrochemicals of about USD 55 million annually. Praj Industries has invested USD 15 million in an ethanol plant in Paraguay. The company have set up two ethanol plants in Paraguari and Canindeyu. Aditya Birla Group has a trade office in Paraguay (Swiss Singapore Overseas Limited). Vemarcorp, owned by a PIO based in the UK in the province of Villa Hayes, became the first steelmaker in Paraguay to produce recycled steel in 2018. Crompton Greaves (CG), an Indian electrical equipment company has been supplying transformers, switchgear and other electrical materials to Paraguay's national power utility, Administracion Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE) and Vemarcorp through it’s local company/agents for the past 10+ years.

18.       Business and investment/promotion: A delegation from Electronics and Software Export Promotion Council (EPC) to Paraguay in March 2024; A delegation from Zoho Corporation visited Paraguay on 22 March 2024 to discuss & explore the possibility of collaboration between India & Paraguay in the field of data storage, cloud computing, Customer Relationship Management etc.; Buyer-seller meetings by a Pharmexcil delegation in August 2015; a visit by a CII delegation in September 2012 and a visit by an EEPC delegation in March 2010. Pharmaceutical products of Sri Sri Tattva, Cipla, and Reliance healthcare are being imported into Paraguay. Mission proposes to set up an India-Paraguay Chamber of Commerce.

Mission, in collaboration with local partners, organized seminars on doing business with India viz:

• A webinar, on 02 April 2024, between Association of autoparts industries of Paraguay and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India to explore the potential opportunities in the auto-parts sector between Paraguay and India.
• A webinar with Mahindra and Mahindra and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay on 16 January 2024 to explore the possibility of Mahindra setting up a car manufacturing plant in Paraguay.
• Mission participated in the Mariano Roque Alonso expo – Paraguay's most significant commercial event in 2022 and 2023.
• Mission participated in FITPAR (largest International Tourism Fair of Paraguay) in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
• A representative of Aditya Birla Group based in Sao Paulo visited Asuncion in July 2022 to discuss business opportunities.

 

Cultural Relations

19.       There is a significant following of Indian arts, culture and heritage among Paraguayans. Indian Food Festivals and all editions of the International Yoga Day have seen enthusiastic participation from Paraguayans. As part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, commemorative stamps were launched by Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu and his counterpart Mr Hugo Vélazquez in Asuncion in March 2019. A vegetarian food festival was also organized as a part of Gandhi@150 celebrations. Embassy organized the International Day of Yoga 2022 in Asuncion, Monday waterfalls (an iconic site) in Presidente Franco and Mision Jesuitica Trinidad del Parana (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Encarnacion. IDY 2023 was celebrated in these three cities and also in Salto del Guaira (Canindeyu Department). IDY 2024 was celebrated in 6 cities in Paraguay (Asuncion, Cuidad del Este, Encarnacion, Salto del Guaira, San Bernadino and Concepcion). Mission organized a presentation on tourism opportunities in India for prominent tour operators in Paraguay in June 2022 with Indian dinner. Video presentations from the Indian Tour Operators Association were shown at the event. EAM, during his visit in August 2022, inaugurated a Gandhi Bust at Costanera – a prominent location in Asuncion. Mission participated in the fair “Feria de Sabores del Cabildo” on 14 May 2025, where visitors were served with traditional Indian dishes for tasting.

Technical and Development Cooperation

20.        Under the ITEC program India offered 20 scholarship slots to Paraguay: however, it has seen increase to 21 scholarships in AY 2022-23; 37 scholarships in AY 23-24 and 50 scholarships in AY 2024-25.
Ten (10) diplomats from Paraguay have attended past editions of the Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS), New Delhi. On the request of Paraguay, Ambassador requested SSIFS for a special course for 10-12 Paraguayan diplomats. This is under active consideration by SSIFS.
Seven (07) Paraguayans participated in the Gen-Next Democracy Programme" in India from 08-17 August, 2022.

Dean of Diplomatic and Consular Academy “Carlos Antonio Lopez” of Paraguay, Ambassador Juan Andres Cardozo, visited India to participate in the 48th International Forum for Diplomatic Training (IFDT) in November 2022, organized by Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, New Delhi.
One (01) diplomat from Paraguay attended the 1st Global South Young Diplomat Forum, 20 Nov-01 Dec 2023 organized by Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, New Delhi.

Indian Community
21.       Around 600 Indians live in Paraguay, mainly in Ciudad del Este, a city in the southeast of Paraguay on the border with Brazil and Argentina. Approximately 400 are NRIs, and the remaining are PIOs involved in trading, wholesale and retail business. Vemarcorp plant, owned by a British PIO, employs around 25-30 Indians which along with family members constitutes around 40 Indian nationals.

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10 June 2025