President Santiago Peña signed seven bilateral agreements with his Ecuadorian counterpart, Daniel Noboa, during an official visit to Quito on Tuesday. The documents cover security, defense, trade, and human mobility, marking a deepening of cooperation between the two countries.
Peña was received the previous evening by Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Roberto Kury at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport, accompanied by First Lady Leticia Ocampos and Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano. The agenda included a wreath-laying ceremony at the Independence Monument and an official ceremony at the Carondelet Palace, the seat of the Ecuadorian government.
The signed instruments establish mechanisms for extradition and judicial cooperation, air services, recognition of driver's licenses, information and security strategy exchanges, technical-military cooperation, women's empowerment and protection, in addition to a joint declaration. The area of cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime is one of the priority pillars.
In a statement to the press, Noboa highlighted that the meeting "reflects the solidity of the bilateral relationship between Ecuador and Paraguay, sustained over more than 145 years." The Ecuadorian president emphasized the need for Latin American unity to face global challenges: "Just as in the past some nations united to do evil, today we have the responsibility to work together for development."
Peña, in turn, focused on cooperation against transnational organized crime: "Paraguay and Ecuador are very clear that there will never be development and prosperity in our nations if we are not first able to provide security." The Paraguayan leader added that "we will fight organized crime with organized institutions, with organized countries."
The visit took place after Peña's participation in the inauguration of Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori in Lima. The Paraguayan president's return to the country was scheduled for Tuesday night.