"Paraguayan President Santiago Pena announced on Saturday that Mercosur is looking to form strategic alliances with BRICS and Asian countries after signing a landmark trade deal with the European Union. "This agreement with the European Union comes at a very important moment, because the signal we are sending goes far beyond just an economic and commercial agreement," Pena said following the signing ceremony in Asuncion. "It is a signal we are sending to the whole world, which today is fearful because of this trade battle. We are telling them that here we are taking a great step in economic integration between two regions with a great future," he emphasised. He highlighted that Mercosur has advanced in a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and is eyeing deals with Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia and Canada. "There is no doubt that the Mercosur countries are convinced that economic integration, collaboration and multilateralism are the way forward," Pena stated. "We understand that we live in a turbulent world, where the certainties we had in the past are no longer there, and that forces us to be even more ambitious in the horizons we want to reach," he added. The European Union and Mercosur officially signed the free trade agreement in Asuncion on Saturday, concluding 25 years of negotiations and establishing one of the world's largest free-trade zones. The agreement covers a market of more than 780 million people, accounting for roughly one-quarter of global GDP. It eliminates most tariff and non-tariff barriers, with around 92% of trade between the blocs expected to be tariff-free within 15 years. The pact positions Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay as key partners for European supply chains, despite opposition from Poland, Hungary, Ireland and France."