Taipei, July 11 (CNA) Taiwan and Paraguay are to sign an economic cooperation agreement in Taipei to further promote bilateral trade and investment ties, a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official said Tuesday.
Economics Minister Lee Chih-kung and Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Commerce Gustavo Leite will ink the documents at a ceremony on Wednesday, witnessed by President Tsai Ing-wen and her Paraguayan counterpart Horacio Cartes, said Chen Ai-lan, a division chief of the Foreign Trade Bureau under the MOEA.
Cartes and Leite arrived in Taiwan along with a delegation on Tuesday for a three-day official visit.
Taiwan and Paraguay signed a memorandum of understanding on trade and investment cooperation in 2001, Chen noted, adding that Tsai and Cartes achieved a consensus on pushing ahead the signing of a bilateral free trade pact in June of last year, when the former visited Taiwan's South American ally.
Under the new agreement, the MOEA and Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce will set up a joint committee to review the implementation of the accord within six months after it goes into effect, Chen said.
Taiwan will also organize a trade mission to visit Paraguay in October to continue to promote bilateral trade and economic exchanges, she noted.
According to official statistics, Taiwan exported goods worth US$27.23 million to Paraguay in 2016, while importing goods worth US$20.3 million from the South American country.
