Peru and India have pledged to enhance the two countries’ bilateral ties through deepening cooperation in trade, mutual investment, education and tourism, it has been reported.
The agreement came following a meeting between Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and his counterpart from India Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the recently-held BRICS Summit in Brazil.
At the gathering, the two leaders committed to strengthen political and economic ties with the aim to increase the two-way trade flow as well as to develop cooperation schemes in education and technology.
Likewise, they expressed the willingness of their governments to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with the foremost goal of bolstering the Peru-India bilateral relationship in various fields.
Among other issues addressed at the bilateral held Wednesday was the granting of observer status to India in Latin America’s foremost trade bloc the Pacific Alliance, which groups Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
It is worth mentioning the July 16 high-level talks was President Humala’s first ever meeting with Narendra Modi since the latter took charge of the office India’s Administration in May this year.
The two-way trade volume between Peru and India has gone up seven times over the last five years. Trade between the two countries touched US$1.5 billion in 2013, thus turning India into Peru's fourth largest trade partner in Asia.
Top executive officials from the two countries are expected to meet in August this year to hammer out a solid framework to start negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is set to triple the volume of trade between them annually.
(END) MVF/FHG/DLG/LOG
Published: 7/17/2014