Religion in Paraguay the Alto Parana department, the capital of which is Ciudad del Este. There are also communities in Asunción and Itapua (the capital of which is Encarnación). As in other parts of Latin America, many of these are descended from immigrants from Syria and Lebanon, though some may also be from Bangladesh and Pakistan The Bahá'í Faith in Paraguay begins after `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, mentioned the country in 1916. Paraguayan Maria Casati was the first to join the religion in 1939 when living in Buenos Aires. The first pioneer to settle in Paraguay was Elizabeth Cheney late in
Foreign relations of Paraguay and international relations of Paraguay are officially handled by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, which answers to the executive branch of the government. The current Minister of Foreign Relations as of 2018 is Luis Alberto Castiglioni Unlike any other country in South America, Paraguay recognizes the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China. Although not a particularly large country in absolute terms, Paraguay presently is the largest country maintaining official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. Paraguay is a member of the following international organizations: CAN (associate), FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD (also known as