THE PHILIPPINES is looking to boost trade and investment ties with potential partners from Paraguay, with a focus on business process outsourcing (BPO), agriculture, and electronics, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.
“We want to set up companies there, not to remove work from here, but to capture additional business because of their geographic location,” PCCI President Ferdinand A. Ferrer told reporters on the sidelines of an event late Monday.
He also noted trade opportunities in soy and corn, which would help support Philippine agriculture.
“We want to get favorable (rates) for our farmers and feed producers,” he added.
On Monday, the Philippines and Paraguay signed three agreements that seek to boost cooperation in agriculture, trade, and renewable energy.
These partnerships include a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the PCCI and Paraguay’s Investment and Export Network to establish contacts between Philippine and Paraguayan businesses.
The other landmark deals include a Visa Waiver Agreement for ordinary passport holders of both countries, and an MoU on mutual cooperation in diplomatic training between the two countries’ foreign affairs ministries.
The agreements were signed during a visit by Paraguay President Santiago Peña Palacios to Manila, the first since diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1962.
In 2025, total trade with Paraguay hit $2.2 million, with exports of $1.9 million and imports of $322,400, the Presidential Communications Office said.
The Philippines welcomed 220 tourist arrivals from Paraguay in 2025, against the 191 recorded a year prior. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
