Paraguay is looking to attract more investments from Brazil. On Monday (Jan. 13), Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel, met with Paraguay's Ministers Gustavo Leite, Industry and Trade, and Eladio Loizaga, Foreign Affairs, in Asunción.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed sending business committees to Brazil in 2014 to showcase Paraguay's potential to prospective Brazilian investors.

Pimentel's visit is part of a round of meetings with Mercosur authorities ahead of the bloc's summit in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 31. So far, the minister has been to Caracas; Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Also on Monday, a technical cooperation agreement between institutes of measurement, quality and technology standards from both countries was extended.

Over the past decade, trade between Brazil and Paraguay is reported to have risen from $1.18 billion to $4.02 billion. In 2013, Brazil sold $2.75 billion to the neighboring country and imported $964 million. Brazil's leading exports were fertilizers, diesel and agricultural machinery; top imports were wheat, corn, soybeans, meat, and rice.