When talking about the Latin American region, images appear in the minds of many people of territories rich in natural resources, with emerging, homogeneous nations, with Spanish as the dominant language and with a rich football tradition. The reality is that today Latin American countries diverge significantly in size, history, development model and future projections, among many other differentiating characteristics.
In the case of Peru, we are talking about a country located in a central area of the Latin American region with more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline on the Pacific Ocean and with the South American seaport with the largest volume of cargo, elements that ensure optimal conditions for its projection towards the rest of the world. The development model of open economy that Peru has followed during the last three decades, allowed it to attract important investments in mining, agriculture, fishery, energy, services and other sectors, generating sustained growth rates, thanks to its solid macroeconomic fundamentals and general and specific competitive advantages. Its economy, which is developed in a varied territory of 1,285,216 square kilometres of great biodiversity and a population of more than 33 million inhabitants, has been characterized in recent years by having had the most stable currency and the lowest inflation in the region.
An aspect that deserves to be highlighted in Peruvian foreign policy has been its vocation for peace and integration, expressed in the creation of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) in 1969, formed by Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, whose headquarters are in Lima. Subsequently, 13 years ago, Peru founded the Pacific Alliance, together with Chile, Colombia and Mexico, which belong to the group of the largest Latin American economies, after Brazil and Argentina, with the purpose of facilitating the transit of goods, people and capitals. Likewise, Peru has been committed for decades to its projection into the Pacific basin, expressed with its entry in 1998 to the important multilateral forum “Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)”, to which the largest world powers such as the United States, Russia and China belong, among others, Lima having hosted the APEC Leaders’ Summits in 2008 and 2016, and will host it again for the third time this year in November.
Moving on to a more specific level, I wish to refer to the evolution of the positive relations of friendship and cooperation that unite Peru and the United Arab Emirates, since I assumed duties as Consul General of Peru in Dubai in 2019. That year we signed agreements of mutual visa exemption for all types of passports, which came into force in November 2020. We have also held meetings of the bilateral political consultation mechanisms between our Foreign Ministries, very useful to promote the agenda of common interest for both countries. The priority that Peru assigns to the UAE was made evident through the consistent Peruvian participation at EXPO 2020 Dubai, with a pavilion that won the gold trophy for the best interior design among the medium-sized pavilions, awarded by “Bureau Internationals des Expositions (BIE)”, based in Paris. After EXPO DUBAI, we witnessed the opening of more than a dozen restaurants offering Peruvian cuisine in Dubai, which also corresponds to the boom our gastronomy experience in many other countries.
Over the last few years, we have had numerous visits from Peru from high authorities, members of the Parliament, businessmen, academicians and other personalities, who have participated in high-level international events and meetings, some of them having been honoured with recognition in the UAE.
This year in February, our Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism visited in UAE and held an important meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi. At the end of the meeting, it was announced the beginning of bilateral negotiations to a “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement – CEPA” between UAE and Peru. This is an important step that will contribute to enrich the legal framework of our relations, as well as to promote the commercial exchange, new investments and the tourism, which had already been reinforced last year with the signing of a bilateral “Air Services Agreement (ASA)”.
On the other hand, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry has recently announced the opening of our Embassy in Abu Dhabi, which will certainly expand our bilateral relations to a higher level. In the dynamic and fast-paced world that we live in, Peru certainly offers great opportunities to companies based in the UAE, to invest and grow in a stable market, with guarantees of equal treatment between national and foreign investors, as well as with great potential. Peruvian exports to the UAE, which are around one billion US dollars, consisting of gold, fruits, food and other products, will surely increase, due to Dubai’s positioning as a port and airport hub.
In order to illustrate the opportunities that can be taken advantage of in the Peruvian economy, I would like to mention just some of the projects that are being carried out in my country, such as the prompt completion of the new air terminal and new runway at the “Jorge Chávez International Airport” located in the capital, operated by Lima Airport Partners (Fraport AG from Frankfurt, Germany); the second line of the Lima underground metro that will cross the capital from east to west and will finally reach the mentioned international airport; the new Cuzco international airport, located in Chinchero; the new multipurpose maritime mega-port of Chancay, located north of Lima; the modernization and expansion of the South Dock of the port of Callao, operated by DP World, which now can receive ships of 400 meters in length and up to 21,000 TEUs; the commuter trains to the north and south of Lima; the Autopista del Sol, which will reduce the journey between the cities of Trujilo and Sullana on the north coast by two hours; the new Talara oil refinery, which will produce fuels of high environmental quality; the new Central Highway and new peripheral road ring in the city of Lima; the new infrastructure for the 2027 Pan American Games; the irrigation of Majes Siguas II and Chavimochic III, which will allow an expansion of the agricultural surface by more than 100,000 hectares; all of which contributes competitiveness and efficiency to the Peruvian economy.
I would like to conclude this message by thanking “Kreston Menon” for the opportunity to address its clients through this medium, congratulate them for the reputation they enjoy due to the quality of their services, as well as invite those businessmen who are interested in exploring new businesses in Peru to contact the Consulate General of Peru in Dubai, which will always have its doors open to provide accurate and timely information.