Peru shifts its interest from major markets to UAE

In an effort to reduce reliance on major industrial markets such as European Union and USA and to learn from the successful experiments of UAE, Peru is embarking upon striking trade deals with GCC countries, according to a senior Peruvian official. In enthusiastic remarks made after the IIIrd ASPA Arab - South American Summit that successfully took place in Lima, Peru, the Peruvian Economy and Finance Minister Luis Miguel Castilla said that his country is greatly interested to open up with new partners. Speaking to the Spanish News Agency (EFE) about his country's interest in UAE, Castilla said:"They could add value to economy through the service industry". Castilla is a prominant South American economist and politician. The IIIrd ASPA summit in Lima saw active participation from several Heads of States and numerous leading business leaders from both regions. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash led the official UAE delegation to the summit leading an elite group representatives from Emirati companies such as DP World, ADNOC and Masdar. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the Declaration of Lima, which contains broad coincidences in favor of multilateralism, non-proliferation, the fight against terrorism and support for the Palestinian state, as well as concrete agreements to foster connectivity, trade, investment and technical cooperation between the members of the Arab League and of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). During the Summit, Peru and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), represented by the Foreign Ministers of Peru and Saudi Arabia, signed a Framework Agreement on Economic, Commercial, Investment and Technical Cooperation to develop a feasibility study for a Free Trade Agreement between them, encourage capital flows and create a Joint Committee to foster exchanges on these issues. The parallel ASPA CEO Summit, for its part, gathered in Lima 500 corporate leaders from both regions, with more than 200 business meetings held during the two days of the event. The Peruvian Ministers of Economy, Energy, Transportation and Trade presented the participants with a wide range of investment opportunities in the country. The official delegations also agreed that the next IV ASPA Summit will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2015 and that several high-level meetings will be convened during 2013, including meetings of the Arab and South American Ministers of Health and Education, to take place in Peru, and the meeting of the Ministers of Energy of both regions, scheduled in January in the UAE.