Paraguay Paraguay-India | Page 22

paraguay P araguay, one of the oldest republics in Latin America, is located in the central zone of South America, bordering Brazil and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Argentina to the east, Argentina to the south and Argentina and Bolivia to the west. According to the projections of the General Directorate of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses / DGEEC (2015), it has a population of 7.5 million. The offi cial languages of the country are Spanish and Guaraní (taking into account the fact that the languages of indigenous peoples are part of the nation’s cultural heritage). As for its dynamic with India, both countries established relations in 1961. Paraguay opened its Embassy in India in 2006, while India is represented in Paraguay through its Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while there is an Honorary Consulate in Asunción. In 2012, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo visited India, becoming the fi rst Paraguayan president to do so, while this year (2019), the Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, visited Paraguay (MEA, 2019). For the rest, a tiny community of Indian emigrants resides in the country. In the given context, this article aims to characterize the economic dimension of Paraguay, as well as highlight its investment landscape. INVEST IN PARAGUAY ECONOMIC-COMMERCIAL AND INVESTMENT PANORAMA BY LÍA RODRÍGUEZ DE LA VEGA 1 , MATÍAS IGLESIAS 2 22 • PARAGUAY 2019 Economy Paraguay has a small, moderately diversifi ed and open economy, which since the beginning of 2000 stands out for its stability, with an average growth of around 4.5 percent per year, higher than most of its regional peers (Broncano, Mendoza and Vega, 2019). ECLAC (2018) points out that the expansion of GDP was based on agriculture, with the growth of 4.0 percent year-on-year, in the manufacturing industry (8.4%) and trade (12%). On the expenditure side, growth continues to be explained by private consumption and investment. Among the main Paraguayan products are soy (which with its derivatives represents about 40 percent of total exports), rice, beans and tobacco. The livestock sector, which now represents around 2.2 percent of the national product, experienced moderate growth and forestry exploitation grew by 9.8 percent. In the secondary sector, the manufacturing industry grew by 8.4 percent driven by the production of paper, the production of oils, milling and baking, chemicals, beverages and tobacco, machinery and equipment. Construction, which was the engine of growth in 2016, slowed down (-1.5%). There was also growth in the services sector, mainly in commerce