Paraguayan Vice President Luis Castiglioni said the Paraguayan government "will intensify" its relations with the United States, local daily ABC Color reported Monday.

Castiglioni explained the decision was made for building a much more secure, stable and consolidated region.

He said the two countries will work "on extensive commercial agreements" through which "there would be a greater US presence" in Paraguay.

They talked for the first time "as equals," being fair to each other, said Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos last week to visiting US Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld in the capital Asuncion.

"We don't only want to be friends, but partners in different undertakings in economic development," said Duarte after affirming that in the future Paraguay and the United States will have closer ties.

According to the ABC Color, the US government seeks "an ally in the region again" and opts for the administration of Duarte Frutos, after its relations with Argentina decreased in the wake of the departure of ex-president Carlos Mesa (1989-1999), a US "strategic ally."

Source: Xinhua