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InterviewsJanuary 5 2015

Paraguay finance minister looks to make better connections

The finance minister of Paraguay, German Rojas, is keep to continue the country's impressive economic performance of recent years, but is fully aware that to do this the state of its crumbling infrastructure must be addressed.
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Despite its economy experiencing impressive growth over the past few years, Paraguay is in urgent need of modernising its infrastructure if it is to maintain this pace of development. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by more than 13% in 2013, a figure it also hit in 2010. While economic growth figures were not quite as strong in the intervening years – reduced public spending, a severe drought and foot-and-mouth disease hit the agriculture-dependent country – the Latin American nation, nestled between Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, has been one of the few global success stories in the aftermath of the crisis. GDP growth for 2014 is expected to be about 5%, according to the World Bank.

However, deficiencies in Paraguay's infrastructure network pose a threat to this growth, especially as the country's economy relies on exports. Its roads network is badly connected and poorly paved, the rail network is virtually non-existent, and the waterways are in need of improvement to accommodate heavier cargos and cope with periods of drought.

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Silvia Pavoni is editor in chief of The Banker. Silvia also serves as an advisory board member for the Women of the Future Programme and for the European Risk Management Council, and is part of the London council of non-profit WILL, Women in Leadership in Latin America. In 2019, she was awarded an honorary fellowship by City University of London.
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