Peru, Japan sign investment agreement, eye free trade talks
Peru, Japan Sign Investment Agreement, Eye Free Trade Talks
By Alex Emery
Nov. 22 2008 (Bloomberg) — Peru and Japan signed an investment protection agreement that may clear the way for free-trade negotiations, the Andean nation’s government said.
Peru’s President Alan Garcia and Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso signed the accord last night in Lima, Garcia’s office said today in a statement. Garcia aims to begin talks for a trade accord during a trip to Japan in February, the statement said.
Peru, which this week wrapped up trade talks with China and announced plans for free-trade negotiations with South Korea, is seeking new markets for its products to offset slumping demand in the U.S., Peru’s main trading partner. Trade between Peru and Japan, mainly metals and fish products, jumped 70 percent to about $3 billion last year, according to the Trade Ministry.
Peru is the gateway that links Asia to the Americas,'' the statement cited Aso as saying. The Japanese leader arrived yesterday for a meeting of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima.
Relations between the two nations had been strained since former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, fled to Japan in 2000 as his administration collapsed amid charges of corruption. Japan recognized him as a citizen and denied Peru's extradition requests. He was extradited last year from Chile.It was a fundamental objective to rebuild Peru-Japan relations,’’ Garcia said in the statement. ``It has been a steady task to regain trust that never should have been lost.’’
