Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister, Magali Silva, informed today “everything is being set” to welcome India's Commerce Secretary, Rajeev Kher.
In May, Kher will pay a visit to Peru to boost the beginning of the negotiations aimed at reaching a Free Trade Agreement between both countries.
“Secretary Kher will visit our country by early May to continue encouraging the opening of negotiations for a FTA between both countries and [therefore] begin with the face-to-face works, which are part of the Joint Feasibility Study," she specified.
According to the Minister, the study drafted by representatives of both countries, is a previous step towards the reaching formal negotiations, which will take six months at most.
Additionally, the Joint Feasibility Study should conclude in August. After this, negotiations for the FTA should begin.
It should be noted the feasibility of a bilateral trade agreement will be analyzed by a group of officials, who conduct the Joint Feasibility study.
It is composed of representatives of the Trade Ministries of Peru and India.
Potential Market
The Republic of India represents an important and powerful market for Peru.
It has a population of 1.260 billion inhabitants; of this around 300 million belong to the middle class. It means the population of Peru multiplied by 10.
During 2014, bilateral trade between India and Peru surpassed US$1.158 billion. Of the amount, US$321 million represented exports, and US$837 million imports.
Regarding the non-traditional exports, the products standing out were: Calcium phosphates, acrylic fibers, grapes and boric acid, among others.
Regarding traditional products exported: raw gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and fish meal stand out.
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