History of Paraguay (to 1811) Buenos Aires in 1580, the steady deterioration in the importance of Asunción contributed to growing political instability within the province. In 1617 the Río de la Plata Province was divided into two smaller provinces: Paraguay, with Asunción as its capital, and Río de la Plata, with headquarters in Buenos Aires. With this action, Asunción lost control of the Río de la Plata estuary and became dependent on Buenos Aires for maritime shipping. In 1776 the crown created the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata; Paraguay, which had been subordinate to Lima, now became an outpost of Buenos Aires. Located at
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