Fifth Round of MERCOSUR–Singapore Negotiations
The Fifth Round of Negotiations between MERCOSUR and Singapore commenced in Singapore with the aim of concluding Free Trade Agreement between the two parties. This round brings together around 70 negotiators and experts from both sides working simultaneously across technical groups on Market Access, Rules of Origin, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Investment, Services, Intellectual Property, and Government Procurement. The remaining technical groups—completing the 14 areas and disciplines covered by the agreement—will meet in Asunción at the end of May.
This round seeks to maintain the momentum of the negotiation process, which began in 2019 and remains a priority for MERCOSUR. The agreement will be the bloc’s first trade agreement with a Southeast Asian country. For Paraguay, Singapore is the third most important destination market for its industrial exports.
This agreement not only represents a diversification of trade flows and improved conditions for investment between the two parties—particularly with Singapore, a major global source of capital—but also an update of trade disciplines to the highest international standards.
Paraguay is coordinating this negotiation on behalf of MERCOSUR. It hosted the previous round in April of this year and will once again welcome the Singapore delegation in Asunción at the end of May and in June.
Paraguay’s delegation is led by Chief Negotiator and Director of Economic Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Enrique Franco, and includes diplomats and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
Singapore’s delegation is led by Dr. Francis Chong of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The other MERCOSUR delegations are headed by Verónica López Gill and Rossana Riccini (Argentine Republic), Minister Philip Fox-Drummond Gough (Federative Republic of Brazil), and Ambassador Alejandra De Bellis (Oriental Republic of Uruguay).
This round is expected to achieve substantial progress across the various negotiating groups, with the goal of concluding the Agreement within the current semester, during Paraguay’s Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Paraguay