Santiago Peña Palacios, President of Paraguay, was on a 3-day state visit to India from June 02 to 04 2025, at the invitation of the Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi to boost bilateral ties across political, economic, and cultural spheres. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior ministers, senior officials from the Paraguay Government as well as a large business delegation.
- This marked President Santiago Peña Palacios’s 1st official visit to India and only the second by any Paraguayan President.
- His visit also held great significance as both India and Paraguay commemorated the 64th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Highlights of the visit:
On June 02 2025, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios was accorded a ceremonial welcome along with a Guard of Honour, on his arrival at Palam Air Force Station in Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi (Delhi).
- He was received by Union Minister of State (MoS) Harsh Vardhan Malhotra, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA), highlighting the strong bilateral ties between two countries.
High-Level Meeting in New Delhi:
i.On June 02 2025, President of India, Droupadi Murmu hosted a formal banquet in the honour of President Pena at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
- During the meeting, both leaders recognised that there is immense potential to further strengthen bilateral ties between India and Paraguay.
ii.On June 02 2025, PM Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Leaders of both countries discussed the evolution of diplomatic relations between India and Paraguay.
- During the meeting, both leaders held a comprehensive discussion on a wide range of bilateral relations, including trade and investment, health and pharmaceuticals, defence and security, infrastructure, mining and mineral resources, agriculture and food security, green energy, disaster management, among others.
Key Outcomes:
i.Clean Energy and Sustainable Technologies: Both countries have agreed to further bolster cooperation in sectors like: clean energy, green hydrogen value chains and biofuels, through joint project development, technology transfer, sharing of best practices both bilaterally and multilaterally.
- PM Narendra Modi appreciated the incorporation of Paraguay as a founding member of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA).
ii.Counter-Terrorism: During the meeting, PM Narendra Modi appreciated Paraguay for its strong condemnation of the terrorist attack held in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in April 2025.
iii.Cyber-security: Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation in cyber-security.
iv.Trade and Investment: Both leaders agreed on the significance of strengthening ties in trade and investment. They also agreed to strengthen and expand existing trade links under the India-Southern Common Market(MERCOSUR) Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
v.Space Exploration: Both countries highlighted the interest of the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) in collaborating with Bengaluru (Karnataka) based Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) in the development and launch of CubeSats using launch vehicles of ISRO.
vi.Higher Education: Leaders of both countries acknowledged the potential to bolster cooperation in the field of higher education.
vii.Creative Industries: PM Narendra Modi and President Santiago Peña Palacios emphasized the importance of bolstering cooperation in the field of creative industries.
viii.Critical Minerals: Both countries highlighted the significance of cooperation in the critical minerals and rare earth sector.
ix.Disaster Management: PM Narendra Modi invited Paraguay to become a member of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), global alliance of 43 countries and 7 organisations, dedicated to improving the resilience infrastructure system to tackle the rising climate and disaster risks.
x.Cultural Cooperation: Both leaders underscored the mutual interest in bolstering cultural cooperation between India and Paraguay.
India & Paraguay Signed MoU to Establish JCM:
On June 03 2025, Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India (GoI) and Ruben Ramirez Lezcano, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, signed a MoU to establish Joint Commission Mechanism (JCM) in New Delhi, Delhi.
- JCM will offer an important platform to review and explore collaboration in various sectors of common interest between India and Paraguay.
About Paraguay:
President- Santiago Peña Palacios
Capital- Asuncion
Currency- Paraguayan Guarani (PYG)
