Asunción, Agencia IP.- On the occasion of the visit of Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, accompanied by a delegation of government officials and businesspersons, memorandums of cooperation were signed in the areas of space industry and technologies, primarily.
The agreements signed between Paraguay and Japan were for cooperation in information and communication technologies, in the development of space capacity for sustainable development, in space activities for peaceful purposes, and in the development of a space industry.
The event took place during the business forum held on the occasion of the visit of Japanese businessmen and Prime Minister Kishida. MITIC Minister, Gustavo Villate, and the Conatel President, Juan Carlos Duarte, participated.
Additionally, an agreement was signed between representatives of the Japanese firm Hagihara Industries and the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of Asunción. The firm has a synthetic fiber industrial plant in Ciudad del Este, through its subsidiary Barchip Inc. The latter, in turn, signed an agreement with the Paraguayan Road Association.
Cooperation in space systems
In the space area, Japan contributed to the launch of Paraguay’s first nanosatellite, the GuaraniSat-1, in February 2021.
Cooperation in this area also allowed for the exchange of experiences and the training of human capital, which enabled Paraguay to have its first two PhDs in Space Systems.
It also provided assistance and equipment for the Geographic Information Systems and Earth Observation Laboratory (GEOLab), which is operational at the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP).
The AEP is preparing for the launch of Paraguay’s second nanosatellite, and the first designed and built in our country, the GuaraniSat-2. Its predecessor was used for monitoring vinchuca populations for Chagas Disease control in the Chaco region, and this one will have applications for crop monitoring and agricultural yield prediction.
Currently, there is a two-year cooperation between the AEP and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for personnel training and technical assistance.