Interview with H.E. Mr Jorge Juan Castaneda Mendez, Ambassador of Peru to India

At this point in time, would you consider that relations between Peru and India are at all time high?

The year 2017 is turning out to be a magnificent year in strengthening, expanding and diversifying bilateral relations between India and Peru. The recent Joint Commission held in Lima on 21st June 2017, the beginning of the negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement on 10th August 2017, the opening of the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India in Lima and the Art Gallery of the Embassy of Peru in New Delhi, the re-establishment of the Indo Peruvian Friendship Association and the increase of bilateral trade prove that our bilateral relations are at its peak and oriented towards establishing strategic partnership between our two countries.

Union Ministers Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr Prakash Javadekar have been to Peru lately, as has Karnataka State Minister Mr R V Deshpande. What has been the feedback from these visits?

The mentioned Ministers of the Union visited Peru in 2015 and these visits were exclusively related to attending the annual Meeting of the IMF/World Bank and COP 20, which were held in Lima. Karnataka State Minister Mr. R.V. Deshpande visited Peru in 2016 in order to promote a sisterhood between Hampi and Machu Picchu. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that this year, in March, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Peru visited India to coordinate the starting of the negotiations of our bilateral trade agreement and in June Secretary East (MEA) Preeti Saran paid a visit to Peru to attend the India Peru Joint Commission. But above all, the upcoming visit to India of the President of Peru, H.E. Mr. Pedro Pablo Kuzcynski in November 2017, will serve for the signing of important agreements between our two countries.