São Paulo – Peru should host the 3rd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa) in October and hopes to attract investment after the meeting, according to news disclosed by Andina, the Peruvian state-owned press agency. The deputy minister of Foreign Relations of Peru, José Beraún Araníbar, stated that the Aspa is an opportunity to open new investment and generate benefits for the development of the country.
"This is a very important and new horizon. I compare it to what we did 40 years ago in Asia, when China was a country that was little known to us. As we come closer to the world it is possible that we may generate jobs and improve the export offer,” said the diplomat.
The Arab market, according to the deputy minister, may represent opportunities for sales of several kinds of products, like food. He recalled that the region is an importer of food and that his country counts on new irrigation programmes that make it possible, in the near future, for Peru to have more products for sales in new markets.
One of the pillars of the government of Peru, said Araníbar, is openness to the world aiming to generate more opportunities, diversify markets and have greater international presence. “We must seek new markets and find satisfaction and concrete benefits,” he said.
The Brazilian Presidency of the Republic’s special advisor for Foreign Affairs, Marco Aurélio Garcia, had a similar opinion when visiting Peru, to participate in a meeting in the scope of the South American Union of Nations (Unasul). He said that in a context of crisis that affects developed nations in the West, it is necessary to recall the Arab countries, which have great capital and are prepared to enter the Latin American markets.
"It will therefore be a privileged opportunity. In the face of the global crisis, the Arab world represents to South America a set of alternatives, be it as a market or as a possibility to attract investment," he said to the Peruvian press. He added, however, that the summit should not only discuss matters like investment and trade, but also themes like international peace and safety.
According to information disclosed by Araníbar, leaders like the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, and the president of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, have already confirmed their presence at the Aspa. The government of Peru has declared public holidays on October 1st and 2nd due to promotion of the Aspa in the cities of Lima and Callao. The latter is a city neighbouring the country capital.
*Translated by Mark Ament
