Paraguay President Horacio Cartes has said there is good potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Paraguay, especially in trade.

At a reception on June 11 for the new Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao who came to present his credential, the President praised the remarkable development of Vietnam over the past years.

He suggested that the two sides coordinate more closely to produce good cooperation outcomes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2015.

Ambassador Thao said Vietnam is determined to promote partnership with Paraguay in all fields, especially in trade and culture, stating that Vietnam will work with Paraguay to speed up the implementation of existed cooperation agreements.

Earlier, Ambassador Thao also had a meeting with Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga, during which they discussed ways to beef up bilateral ties in politics, trade, investment, science and technology.

Last year, two-way trade between Vietnam and Paraguay reached 47.9 million USD, a 23 percent fall compared to the previous year, according to customs statistics of Paraguay.

However, the figure is likely to be picked up this year as trade in the first five months of this year already hit 38.6 million USD, up 111 percent against the same period last year.

Vietnam mainly exports to Paraguay sports shoes, electronics, rubber, garments, automobile, machineries, and agriculture equipment. Meanwhile, it imports from the country major products of soybean powder, beef, leather, steel and iron.-VNA