The Ambassador of Paraguay in Lebanon H.E. Mr. Hassan Khalil Dia presented a lecture on March 24, 2011 within the framework of a series of lectures for the 2010 – 2011 academic year, given by the ambassadors of Latin America in Lebanon, organized by the Higher Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences and the Center of Studies and Cultures of Latin America at USEK, under the theme of: “Foreign Policy – Latin America and its Relations with the Middle East”.

The Ambassador presented at the beginning of his lecture an overview of Paraguay, including general information in terms of the country’s geography, people, structural resources and business climate, underlining that it is distinguished by a big water reserve, young and trainable workforce, low risk of natural disasters, low cost of living and low production costs. He shed the light thereafter on the Lebanese diaspora in Paraguay and the key role it is playing in achieving socio-economic and political developments in the country. The ambassador pointed out as well through a number of statistical facts and figures that Paraguay is witnessing outstanding developments in comparison to other countries of Latin America in terms of international trade, particularly a remarkable increase in the rate of exports and imports. On the economic level, the country is also distinguished by having one of the lowest tax burdens in the world including the personal income tax and the value added tax. Moreover, he stressed that Paraguay is considered as the 8th most peaceful country, including all 23 Latin nations analyzed, due to: low arms level, low military spending, absence of external conflicts and peaceful relations with neighboring countries. He finally pointed out the major potential sectors in the country, namely: tourism, biofuels, TICs, leather, energy, ecotourism, infrastructures, etc.