Asunción, Agencia IP.- French President Emmanuel Macron received Paraguayan President Santiago Peña last Monday in Paris. They discussed the recent free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, announced last Friday during the South American bloc’s summit, and the potential for new private-sector investments in Paraguay.
«I had an important meeting with President Emmanuel Macron where we discussed key issues on our bilateral agenda,» Peña posted on his X account. The Paraguayan President began an official visit to France on Monday, during which he participated in a session at the OECD Development Center and held meetings with business leaders.
AFP and EFE news agencies also interviewed the President. In the interview, he supported the technical agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, which he presented last Friday at the latest Mercosur Summit of Heads of State.
«We are ready to come to the table and move forward toward a shared future with Europe and Mercosur,» he told EFE. In his remarks to AFP, he stated that Europe would be the main beneficiary of the agreement, which faces strong opposition in France and other EU countries.
As he did before his Mercosur counterparts, President Santiago Peña emphasized the need for greater integration to address global food insecurity and to seize commercial opportunities in a market of over 700 million consumers that opens up with the free trade agreement.