Salvador, Brazil — Brazil and Paraguay resumed official dialogue for the Itaipu Binacional Hydropower plant according to a joint statement on Monday.The talks were suspended in April after a Brazilian espionage operation that aimed to access classified information about the power plant dam tariffs came to light in the media.
According to the statement signed by Foreign Ministers Mauro Vieira and Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, both countries agreed to resume negotiations on the revision of Annex C to the Itaipu Treaty in the first half of December 2025.
Read more: Brazil, Paraguay resume Itaipu hydropower talks months after espionage operation falloutRamírez Lezcano also received a confidential report made by the Brazilian government and considered the matter “closed” after talking to Vieira.
“Minister Vieira delivered a confidential report and provided clarifications requested by the Paraguayan government regarding actions taken by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency in relation to Paraguay between June 2022 and March 2023,” read the statement.
“He recalled that President Lula’s government nullified the operation as soon as it became aware of it. While lamenting the impact of this episode on bilateral relations, he assured that the Brazilian government is taking all measures to enable the identification of those involved and their legal accountability,” it went on.
Located on the border between the two countries on the Paraná river, the Itaipu Binacional Hydropower plant is controlled equally by Brazil and Paraguay and is one of the largest dams in the world.
It sits 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) north of the Friendship Bridge, in the municipalities of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil and Hernandarias, Paraguay. Itaipu supplies approximately 8.6% of the energy consumed in Brazil and 86.3% of that consumed in Paraguay.
The company characterized itself as the largest generator of clean and renewable energy on the planet. Resources for the construction of the binational hydroelectric plant total US$27 billion.
View of the conductors at the Itaipu Binacional hydroelectric dam. The hydroelectric plant was created on April 26, 1973, and is governed equally by Brazil and Paraguay. Photo: Joédson Alves/Agência Brasil
Espionage Fallout
On March 31 of this year, a story published by the news outlet Uol revealed an espionage operation by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) against Paraguay took place between June 2022 and March 2023.
Abin allegedly attempted to access Paraguayian computers to get classified information to help Brazil during Itaipu’s tariffs negotiations. Both nations ended up closing a deal in 2024 maintaining a US$19.28 taxation until 2026.
Brazil released a statement on March 31 denying that the spying took place during president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration and claimed it was carried out under the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
On the day after, the Paraguayan government demanded information about the so-called “intelligence operations” and suspended the negotiations on the Annex C of Itaipu’s Treaty.
This specific part of the document signed between the two countries expired in 2023 and is now going to be discussed again in December. It addresses the financial rules for the operation of the power plant, including the energy tariffs, division of costs and profits, royalties and debt repayment.
Featured image: Exterior view, facade, of the Itaipu Binacional hydroelectric power plant.
Image credit: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil via Agência Brasil
