Statement by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Joint Press Conference with His Excellency Santiago Peña Palacios, President of the Republic of Paraguay

His Excellency

President Santiago Peña Palacios;

Distinguished members of the Philippine and Paraguayan delegations;

Members of the press;

Good afternoon.

Magandang hapon.

Buenas tardes.

Today, I have the distinct honor of welcoming to the Malacañan Palace, His Excellency Santiago Peña Palacios, President of the Republic of Paraguay.

Since the Philippines and Paraguay established diplomatic relations 63 years ago, on December 12, 1962, this is the first presidential visit ever made by either leader of our two countries.

And since Paraguay has taken the first step, I think it is important that the Philippines soon return the favor. [applause]

Cognizant of the historic nature of this visit, President Peña and I engaged in bilateral talks that covered potential areas of cooperation between our two countries, such as in agriculture, trade, and renewable energy, among others.

I raised the possible Philippine export of tuna, sardines, milkfish, and other products to Paraguay, which would certainly give a boost to our local industries.

President Peña and I discussed the potential of increasing trade and investments between our two nations, starting with generating awareness and interest among businesses of both sides, with the longer term objective of identifying and enabling economic and commercial opportunities.

In line with this objective, we welcome the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and Paraguay’s Investment and Export Network or REDIEX, a pivotal step in establishing contacts between Philippine and Paraguayan companies. I commend the PCCI for this groundbreaking initiative.

Complementing the establishment of institutional and commercial linkages is today’s signing of a Visa Waiver Agreement for Ordinary Passport Holders of the Philippines and Paraguay, which the President and I hope will expedite business, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries.

President Peña and I likewise welcome today’s signing of an MOU on Mutual Cooperation in the Field of Diplomatic Training between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will redound to closer engagements between Filipino and Paraguayan diplomats.

President Peña and I also shared political and economic developments in our respective countries, and exchanged views on regional issues such as our ASEAN 2026 Chairship and Paraguay’s Presidency of MERCOSUR.

I express my hope that President Peña’s landmark visit is only the beginning of the deepening friendship and partnership between the Philippines and Paraguay.

I am actually very optimistic in that in our discussion earlier, what came out was a remarkable parallel in the way that our countries are developing ourselves and how we view our countries, the Philippines views itself as a gateway to Asia and Paraguay a gateway to Latin America.

And that connection, should we make it and should we strengthen it, will be a remarkable boon not only to your country and mine, but also to the regions from where we come from.

And that has been – we discussed many things, and it was a very exciting discussion and we were starting to talk not in terms of the short term or even the medium term, but in the much, much longer term.

So we have a great deal of work ahead of us to make sure that we keep that momentum going in our bilateral relations.

Once again, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to the President and the Paraguayan delegation for this historic and productive visit. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Maraming salamat.

Muchas gracias. [applause]

— END —