Israel keen on starting FTA talks with Peru
Agencia Andina 13.05.2013
Israel keen on starting FTA talks with Peru
Lima, May 13 (ANDINA). Israel and Peru expect to kick off negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before year’s end in order to take advantage of the two economies’ complementariness, Israel’s ambassador to Peru Modi Ephraim said Monday.
Israel’s ambassador to Peru, Modi Ephraim. Photo: Embajada de Israel.
He said Israeli authorities have already held talks with the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) and the Private Investment Promotion Agency (Proinversion).
Ephraim asserted that an FTA will boost bilateral trade between the two countries, as well as investment and cooperation, particular in agriculture and energy.
"I believe that in three or four months we could have a negotiated agreement. As Peru has made a considerable progress in such agreements, so this one will be an important step for both countries in terms of integration," he said.
The diplomatic emphasized that Israel could purchase several Peruvian agricultural and textile products, while Peru would import technology and other products or services from the middle-eastern country, thus increasing bilateral trade.
Ephraim stressed Israel expects to double its investments in Peru to US$ 2 billion by 2015, which will be mainly allocated in sectors such several sector as energy, agriculture, pharmaceutical, communication and education.
The Israeli ambassador mentioned that in Latin America, Israel has already signed FTA with Mexico and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).
