*Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano has held a virtual meeting with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, with the aim of advancing negotiations for a trade deal between the UAE and the Mercosur trade bloc comprising Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia. In a statement, Paraguay’s foreign ministry states it hopes to finalise an agreement that can be signed before the end of the year. The ministry notes that negotiations on the deal began when Paraguay held the pro tempore presidency of the bloc in 2024. According to the statement, progress of 80% has been made on the 15 negotiated chapters, which address issues such as the trade of goods, services, and rules of origin. A trade deal between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) is the priority of the current Mercosur president, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The ratification process of the long drawn-out deal began earlier this month, with the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, proposing the adoption of the free trade agreement to the European Parliament and EU member states.
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