Asunción, Agencia IP.– On a conjunct declaration between the Paraguayan Chancellor, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, and the Ambassador of the European Union in Paraguay, Javier García de Viedma, materialize this Tuesday on the settlement about the terms and scope of the financing agreement and support to the strengthening of education in Paraguay.
“Today, we have made an exchange of notes that clarify the scope, terminology and concepts of the financing agreement for the program of support to the educational system transformation in Paraguay”, expressed the Paraguayan Chancellor during a press conference in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ramírez Lezcano indicated that the exchange of notes specifies that the agreement is adjusted to the legal framework of Paraguay, respecting its identity, values and the Constitution of the Republic.
In that sense, he explained that the financing agreement, denominated initially “Support to the transformation of the educational system in Paraguay”, will now be called “Support to the strengthen of the educational system in Paraguay”.
“All the clauses and annexes of the financing agreement are reaffirmed, just as the sent documents. They will be interpreted according to the dispositions of the National Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay”, said the Chancellor, while pointing out the articles which will be interpreted the clauses of the agreement.
In that sense, he mentioned the article 46th of the equality of people, the 47th of the guarantee of equality, the 48th of the equality of men and women rights, the 49th of the protection of the family, the 50th of the right of constituting a family, the 53rd of the children, the 54th of children protection, 73rd of the right of education and its purposes, and 75th of educative responsibility.
“The scopes of the Sustainable Development Goals 4 (SDG) regarding educational inclusion and five where it is mentioned the equality and gender approach, just like the equality based on rights, will be interpreted according to the articles of the National Constitution”, claimed the Chancellor.
“The Government understands that the governance of the educational system refers to the management of the Paraguayan government to establish the national policy in the educational area”, he added.
On the other hand, Ramírez recognized the importance of the financing modality to be strictly monitored and that transparency of the funds will be guaranteed, according to the purposes established in the Constitution, in the 8th Chapter of Education and Culture.
Finally, he indicated that the directive committee structure would be strengthened, currently conformed by the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the delegation of the European Union, inviting the Ministry of Economics and Finances and the Ministry of Children and Adolescence to participate in the committee.
“With this agreement, we have finalized this process of dialogue with the EU, which has allowed us to advance and strengthen the cooperation and relation with our country and the EU”, said the Chancellor.
The Ambassador of the European Union in Paraguay, Javier García de Viedma, claimed that this process of conversations started on August 18 and that “during that month and a week, we have been working very hard in coordination with the Chancellery, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Children, at a technical and political level and in a very constructive way”.
The Ambassador thanked for “the positive predisposition to the three ministries, mainly led by the Chancellery”, and in this dialogue, Paraguay has reaffirmed its interpretation of the terminology and concepts of the financing agreement, stating that that respect the National Constitution and the juridical ordering of Paraguay.
“The EU responds in a very constructive way to the interpretation and the rest of the mentions”, ratified the Ambassador.
He also highlighted that the European Union has been cooperating with Paraguay for 30 years, being the first cooperator in education.
“We hope that this exchange of letters allows us to overcome the current situation, and we expect to keep contributing to improving the quality of education in Paraguay”, he finalized.