Peru and Turkey have concluded the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with significant progress made in the area of technical barriers to trade, the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) said on Wednesday.
Deputy Trade Minister Edgar Vasquez said that negotiations in this area are 75% complete after the first round held in Ankara from January 20 to 24.
"Technical teams are keen to conclude talks as soon as possible," Vasquez said. "We expect this process [of negotiations] to end in 2014."
He explained that last week's meetings focused on issues related to trade in goods, services, intellectual property, technical barriers to trade, trade protection, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
"One of the main reasons for this progress is that the negotiations with Turkey are conducted based on the commitments agreed with the European Union, as they share a common economic space," Vasquez said.
Another key outcome from the meeting was a decision to establish a committee on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, which will be responsible for resolving any issues that may arise in the future business relationship.
The next round of talks will be held in Lima, capital of Peru, during the first week of May 2014.
Peru already has free trade pacts with China, the United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada and other countries and blocs.
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