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LIMA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Thursday night that the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; PA) were eager for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free-trade deal to become a reality.
In a press conference, Kuczynski told Xinhua that Peru was keen to join the RCEP, either alone or with its Pacific Alliance partners.
"We have a free-trade agreement (FTA) with China, and we have separate agreements with South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. We will try to broaden this with an effort through the Alliance. However, not all countries within the Alliance have the same agreements...In the Cali Summit, in two months, we will see how we face this. Obviously, we would prefer to do this through the Alliance," said the president.
On Thursday, the four presidents of PA countries held a virtual meeting in which they confirmed their desire to extend their relations with Southeast Asia, to build bridges with the Mercosur bloc as well as Ecuador, while also eliminating all tariffs within the PA.
In terms of foreign investment in Peru, Kuczynski stated that all countries are welcome to invest, whether from Asia, the Americas or Europe.
Concerning the alleged 29 million U.S. dollars in bribes paid by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to three successive Peruvian governments from 2001-2016, the president admitted that it had affected the economy and public trust in government. However, he hoped that the country would "overcome this step" and see GDP growth of 4 percent or above in 2017.
