Paraguay’s president-elect, Santiago Peña, said on Friday that he would continue to strengthen his country’s “historic ties” with Taiwan following a call with his counterpart there after winning the election. The countries’ diplomatic relations of more than six decades had been in the spotlight before Sunday’s election, with opposition candidate Efrain Alegre saying he would seek to move his country closer to China to boost agricultural ties. Paraguay is Taiwan’s only South American ally and the island – claimed by China as its own – has lost support from Central American nations in recent years. We will keep strengthening the historic ties between Paraguay and the Republic of China (Taiwan), and look forward to working on mutually beneficial cooperation projects,” Peña said on Twitter, replying to President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan faces an uphill battle to keep ties with the 13 countries that currently recognize it as a sovereign nation, amid pressure from China.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald May 06, 2023 00:35 UTC