Asunción, Agencia IP.- The President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, ratified his commitment to dialogue to solve the measures adopted by Argentina. He announced that the conversations continue and did not rule out turning up to international organisms so that problems can be solved.
“One can never quit the dialogue and to try and find a solution. I insist that we not lose the patience and despair,” affirmed this Wednesday during an interview with the channel GEN from New York.
In that sense, he assured that he has patience and conviction for the dialogue to be the way to reach an agreement about the measures implemented by the Argentinian government, which goes from the instalment of a toll in the waterway Paraguay-Paraná to the retention of Paraguayan trucks with gas in the border area. “They did not even leave this last fact in writing, and it was simply given through verbal notification”, said the President.
“We must know that this is a chapter in a longer history and is not the first- or last-time para-tariff measures are implemented to block Paraguay. Unfortunately, for a long time, we were defenceless. Today, we have tools we did not have before,” he said while discussing the need to defend the Paraguayan industry.
In that context, he mentioned the opportunity presented during his intervention in the United Nations Assembly to send a message about the present and future of Paraguay, mainly for what is related to international commerce, energetic integration and sustainable production. “It was a space to send several messages, but we must stay united; that is crucial. I will inform with a lot of clarity and transparency”, highlighted.
Peña explained that the decision taken by Paraguay about the withdrawal of energy from Yacyretá is a “measure of protection”, considering that the binational is going through a delicate financial situation. “By having this tool, it allows us to defend ourselves”, he claimed.
Regarding the lack of payment from Argentina to the binational, the President acknowledged that their financial situation is very delicate. Therefore, they are not paying the Paraguayan government for energy transfer.
“They do not have the dollars to make the payments just like the treaty established, but we also must safeguard the defence of the interests of Paraguay. We will continue the dialogues; other international organisms can solve this issue, and we will come up to them”, expressed.