The Financial Times reported that the Paraguayan President, Mario Abdo Benítez asked Taiwan for a US$1 billion investment as it would help him resist “enormous” pressure from Beijing to switch diplomatic recognition to China.
“We are working with the president of Taiwan … so that the Paraguayan people feel the real benefits of the strategic alliance,” the newspaper cited him as saying during a trip to the US.”
“There is Taiwanese investment of more than US$6 billion in countries which don’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we want from that US$1 billion to be put in Paraguay,” President Mario is cited as saying. “That will help us to build the argument about the importance of this strategic alliance with Taiwan… Imagine what the [agricultural] producers say when meat prices fall and they don’t have access to China. They ask you: ‘Please, we have to open up to the Chinese market. What does Taiwan give us when we are a country which could sell its entire soy and meat output to China?’”
The Financial Time article quoted Abdo’s statement as saying the 1-billion U-S dollar investment in his country will help him resist “enormous” pressure for it to switch diplomatic recognition to China.
There was some confusion about this but Paraguay’s foreign minister clarify this by saying his country and Taiwan are “bound by common values instead of money.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei says Paraguay’s foreign Minister has told Taiwan’s ambassador in Asuncion that the relationship between the two allies is built on “shared values and close bilateral cooperation” and there is no “quid pro quo” between both countries.
According to ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou, the clarification was made shortly after the Financial Times story was published, Ou says the Paraguayan foreign minister also told Taiwan’s ambassador that the point President Abdo was making was that Paraguay was the perfect location for the Taiwanese to make investments to enter the larger South American market.
And speaking to reporters, the foreign ministry spokeswoman emphasized that Abdo has been a staunch supporter of Taiwan over the years and has repeatedly reaffirmed that Taiwan-Paraguay ties will remain as long as he is in office since Paraguay is the only diplomatic ally of Taiwan.
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