Peru and Honduras resumed this week stalled negotiations aimed at reaching a free trade agreement and boosting bilateral trade, the Andean country's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) reported on Monday.
According to Mincetur's head, Magali Silva the two Latin American countries have demonstrated their complete commitment to move decisively in the completion of these negotiations. FTA talks had been stalled since 2012.
Likewise, Silva pointed out that that Peru and Honduras will continue talks in the coming weeks through video conferences with the aim to achieve better results in the next round of negotiations, which is expected to be held this October in Honduras.
A FTA with Honduras will be a positive tool to promote bilateral trade, with special emphasis on seeking higher benefits for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), whose major destination markets are Latin American countries.
Honduras's negotiating group was led by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Melvin Redondo while Peru's negotiating group was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Edgar Vasquez. Both teams concluded successfully negotiations on pending issues, including rules of origin and market access.
Negotiations between Peru and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama, started in November 2010, eventually led to FTAs with Costa Rica and Panama and the signing of another agreement with Guatemala; however no agreement was signed with Honduras and El Salvador.
The free trade agreement between the two countries is expected to be signed before the end of this year. Trade between Peru and Honduras totaled US$ 55.1 million in 2013.
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Published: 8/8/2014