Paraguay and Japan Sign Agreement to Fund $24 Million Satellite Technology Project

Paraguay and Japan have formalized a $24 million grant to build and equip a satellite technology center at the National University of Asunción in San Lorenzo. The agreement was signed at Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry by Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano and Hajime Takasago, the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s resident representative in Paraguay.

The ceremony included Senator Eduardo Nakayama, Deputy Juan Añazco, the president of the Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Relations Committee, Japanese Ambassador Katsumi Itagaki and representatives of Paraguay’s Space Agency.

The agreement completes a bilateral process that began nearly six months earlier. The two governments signed an exchange of notes on March 10, 2026. On June 23, the Chamber of Deputies approved the agreement after the Senate had given it preliminary approval and sent it to the executive branch for promulgation. The newly signed convention authorizes the grant’s implementation.

JICA will provide $24 million in non-reimbursable cooperation, equivalent to 3.818 billion Japanese yen. The funding will create a Space Technology Utilization Center at the university. Ramírez Lezcano said it will support the development and testing of small satellites and the processing of satellite information for public use.

The planned building will cover 3,400 square meters across four levels on a two-hectare site within the university campus. Its Space Lab will focus on designing, developing and integrating small satellites and nanosatellites. Its GeoLab will analyze geospatial data for agriculture, risk management, land-use planning and environmental monitoring. The project is presented as a continuation of space cooperation between Paraguay and Japan.