Paraguayan entrepreneurs are driving two strategic initiatives to expand commercial relations with the United Arab Emirates: the creation of the Paraguay-United Arab Emirates Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Capecit) and the formation of a Paraguay Business Council before Dubai Chambers, a nonprofit public organization of the emirate.
The proposals emerged during the business meeting "Why Dubai?", held in Asunción on August 11 and 12, with the participation of Martin Ridley, regional director of Dubai Chambers for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Ridley presented the opportunities that Dubai offers as an international business platform.
The coordination of the initiatives is led by engineer and lawyer Tadeo Molinas Chaparro, who since 2013 has monitored the strengthening of business and institutional relations between the two countries. The proposal was also presented at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), the Paraguayan government body responsible for industrial and commercial policies, to a new group of entrepreneurs.
The first axis is the establishment of Capecit, currently in the process of incorporating founding members, with the objective of promoting investments, trade, tourism, business missions and internationalization of companies between the two markets.
The second axis is the formation of the Paraguay Business Council before Dubai Chambers, aimed at bringing together Paraguayan companies interested in establishing a presence in Dubai, developing business from the Emirates and using that market as a platform for international expansion.
Non-oil trade between the United Arab Emirates and Paraguay reached $249.2 million in 2025, with growth of 53.8% compared to the previous year. The difference is especially marked in the food sector: while the Emirates imported about $27 billion in food in 2024, Paraguay exported only $23 million to that market. Beyond food, opportunities exist in agribusiness, logistics, infrastructure, renewable energy, aviation, technology, mining, health, financial services and transportation.
Molinas Chaparro highlighted that "governments have been doing their part and today there is a very important relationship between Paraguay and the United Arab Emirates. Now it also falls to entrepreneurs to follow this process and transform this rapprochement into concrete investments and business for both countries".
The bilateral link is already reflected in projects such as the Commuter Train, the Bioceanic Corridor and agreements on airport infrastructure, port infrastructure and food security.
Capecit plans to develop trade missions to the United Arab Emirates, B2B meetings, connections with investors and internationalization actions, in addition to coordinating with chambers linked to the Emirates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The stated objective is to transform the generated interest into projects, investments and concrete alliances, consolidating a permanent business bridge between the two countries.