Brazil and Paraguay to resume talks on Itaipu dam in December
The foreign ministers of Brazil and Paraguay agreed to resume negotiations in the first half of December on the revision of Annex C of the Itaipu Treaty, based on the Bilateral Understanding of April 2024, which included discussions on the price of electricity produced by the bi-national dam. The announcement was made on Monday (Nov. 17) in a joint statement.
Annex C establishes the financial and service provision bases for Itaipu’s electricity services and is currently being renegotiated.
According to the statement, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano met in the morning to discuss the bilateral agenda.
During the meeting, Vieira handed Ramírez Lezcano a confidential report and provided the clarifications requested by the neighboring government regarding actions taken by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) in Paraguayan territory from June 2022 to March 2023.
These actions were allegedly aimed at obtaining classified information from Paraguayan authorities involved in negotiations on the bi-national Itaipu power plant. The case, which began during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro but came to light in April of this year, ended up straining bilateral relations and, by Paraguayan decision, freezing talks on Annex C of Itaipu. The two countries disagree on the tariff to be charged for the surplus energy that Brazil purchases from Paraguay – a purchasing prerogative laid out in the bilateral deal.
The joint note recalls that “President Lula’s government nullified the operation as soon as it became aware of it. While regretting the impact of this episode on bilateral relations, it assured that the Brazilian government is taking all measures to identify those involved and hold them accountable before the law.”
“Minister Ramírez Lezcano received the confidential report and explanations offered by his counterpart and, after an exchange of views, stated that the Paraguayan government considered the matter closed,” the text goes on to read.
The foreign ministers are also said to have discussed possible dates for visits by the presidents of Paraguay and Brazil with a view to advancing discussions focusing on the following areas:
- Infrastructure – the inauguration of the Integration Bridge, road connections, the Bi-oceanic Corridor, the Paraguay–Paraná Waterway, and airports.
- Energy – electrical interconnection, inter-institutional cooperation, energy planning, biomass, and ethanol.
- Public security – combating drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime, as well as prison cooperation.
- Defense – strengthening cooperation on military issues, training, joint actions, and defense equipment.
- Cooperation on school meals; family farming; and statistical institutes and public economic planning.
- Cooperation on education – greater access for Paraguayan students to Brazilian universities and teacher exchanges; and student and teacher exchanges between diplomatic academies in the respective foreign ministries and at specific posts abroad.
