By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo

Noting that the annual APEC CEO Summit will be held in Lima, Peru, from November 13 to 15 this year, Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Paul Fernando Duclos Farodi said, “We look forward to the visit of President Yoon Suk-yeol and an important delegation of senior officials and representatives of the private sector of Korea to Peru in November this year.”

Delivering a speech at the reception held at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul to mark the 203rd Anniversary of the Independence of Peru on July 25, Amb. Duclos Farodi said, “A few weeks ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Javier González-Olaechea visited Korea to attend the Korea-Latin America Future Cooperation Forum, and contributed to further elevating our substantive bilateral ties.”

Amb. Duclos Farodi said, “I am referring particularly to agreements linked to digital and transformation technology, the fight against climate change and entry into the supply chains of Korean products, thanks to the advantages offered by our 2011 Free Trade Agreement.”

He also stressed, “Likewise, the recent strategic alliances established in the defense sector between our countries for the construction of a modern shipyard and industrial production of ships in the port of Callao have been very stimulating; the co-production of armed vehicles and technology transfer and the establishment of a parts production line for the FA-50 aircraft.”

Korea and Peru officially established diplomatic relations on April 1, 1963, and entered into force of the bilateral FTA in 2011, and established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012.

The Peruvian Independence Day reception was attended by more than 300 distinguished guests from home and abroad, including foreign ambassadors to Korea, to celebrate Peru's Independence Day.

In a congratulatory speech, Kim Hee-sang, deputy minister for economic affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “Next year, Korea will host APEC after Peru’s presidency this year. So I am sure that bilateral relations will deepen even further as an APEC ‘troika’ over the next two years.”

Commenting that Foreign Minister of Peru visited Korea in the first half of this year for the first time in 20 years, Deputy Minister Kim said, “He held a bilateral meeting with his Korean counterpart and signed the Climate Change Cooperation Agreement between Korea and Peru, consolidating the foundations to deepen cooperation between the two countries.”

He added, “Peru continues its democratic development and economic growth and has become a leading emerging economy in Latin America 203 years after its independence.”