Secretary of State John Kerry
And Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga
September 15, 2016
Treaty Room
Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY KERRY: I’m very happy to welcome Foreign Minister Loizaga of Paraguay here to Washington, and I want to thank him for the June dialogue that our countries had, for the strong partnership we have. And we’re very grateful for the peacekeeping role that Paraguay plays, for the democracy-building role that it plays. It’s been very important to the Haiti elections, important to the challenges of dealing with Venezuela, and we really appreciate the strength of this relationship. They’ve taken leadership on climate change, moving towards ratification, so we’re – we have a strong relationship and we’re grateful to you. Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER LOIZAGA: Thank you, Mr. Secretary Shannon and Secretary Kerry, for this opportunity. Really, it’s a great moment for Paraguay, and how you mentioned we share values of democracy, human rights, freedom of press, and officially today we celebrate the Day of Democracy according to the United Nations resolution.
SECRETARY KERRY: That’s great
FOREIGN MINISTER LOIZAGA: Paraguay, with my president and the government of President Cartes, want to deepen our relations, because we share values, we are fighting for a better world, we are fighting against poverty in Paraguay, and we consider Paraguay as a trustworthy country for United States and a good ally too.
SECRETARY KERRY: Excellent. Happy to be with you.
FOREIGN MINISTER LOIZAGA: Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you for visiting. Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER LOIZAGA: Thanks.
