Since the FTA came into effect in 2011, Korea and Peru have continued to expand bilateral trade and develop a comprehensive partnership. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, held a bilateral summit in the United States in November, and with Peru holding the APEC chairmanship this year and Korea next year, the two countries are expected to cooperate more closely than ever before.
To commemorate the upcoming Peruvian National Day on July 28, ‘Korea IT Times’ conducted an interview with Paul Duclos, the Peruvian Ambassador to Korea, to introduce the significance of the Peruvian national day and the current status and prospects of economic cooperation between the two countries for another 60 years to come. The following is the full text of the interview:
Please elaborate the significance of the Independence Day of Peru, July 28th.
On July 28th, 2024, Perú will commemorate 203 years of Independence. This is a milestone in our history that marks two centuries of existence as a Republic as we complete the independence process on 1824 when the final departure of the Spaniards. The Government and the people of Peru are expecting with great eagerness this commemoration which is an opportunity to celebrate hand in hand with Peruvians living abroad and to commemorate what makes us proud of Peru and to project us to the future. The Bicentennial is also an opportunity to reflect on what remains to be done to build a better society in Peru.
To achieve this ambitious goal, it has been designed a calendar of activities in Peru from all the spaces of the government, civil society, academia, local governments and general public.
In Korea, The Embassy of Peru has been working in an ambitious calendar of activities that will show to the Korean citizens, the best of our culture. We had already started with the visit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Javier González – Olaechea to Korea. For that occasion, we organized an investment seminar, the exposition “Qapac Ñan: The Great Inca Road” in the Latin American Museum in Goyang. Additionally, we had participated in several events as the Coffee Festival in Yeongdo, the International Dance Festival in Busan, the Seoul Friendship Festival and more.
In the following months too, we will celebrate in August the Alpaca Day in “Alpaca World” and an exhibition on the creative graphic designer Ciro Palomino. In October, we will have the “Peru Day” in Seoul City Hall Plaza when we will hold a lot of activities, including a concert of Lenin Tamayo, the creator of Quechua Pop, as well as we will participate in Andong Mask festival among others.
What industrial sectors would be most important for bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries at the moment?
We must recognize that both countries are commercially complementary, which means that we export what Korea needs and vice versa. It is important to mention that culturally we understand each other very well, especially when we do business.
Peru and Korea signed a free trade agreement in 2011, which has allowed our bilateral trade to grow more than 6 times since that time. Currently, the trade exchange between Peru and the Republic of Korea reaches almost USD 4,000 million and it is currently possible to find in Korean supermarkets our excellent mangoes, asparagus, avocado, grapes and organic banana, as well as frozen seafood products and super foods such as quinoa.
The main Peruvian export products were copper minerals and their concentrates, lead minerals and their concentrates, Liquefied Natural Gas and other minerals and hydrocarbons, which represent more than 80% of exports to South Korea, while only 19% constitute agricultural and hydrobiological products.
Along these lines we continue to make efforts to obtain permission to enter pomegranates, at first, and later other important products such as blueberries, various citrus fruits and potatoes, remembering that last May 30 we celebrated the first day in Korea international of this tuber native to Peru.
In Peru, Korea is well known for its excellence in the production of technological products such as appliances, cars, televisions, batteries, and equipment of all kinds. It should be noted that this not only has repercussions synonymous with trust in Korea, but also culturally allows an excellent rapprochement between the two countries.
Please introduce currently outstanding Korean companies in Peru.
It is important to point out that various Korean companies have a presence in Peru. The first of them is SK Innovation, which has an important participation in the exploitation of gas from "Camisea" in Cusco. Likewise, Dohwa Engineering and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, together with the Korean Airports Corporation (KAC) have a stake in the supervision and construction of the Chincheros Airport in Peru. This new project will represent the entrance of tourists to our wonder of the world: Machu Picchu.
Most recently, I must highlight the recent milestones achieved in the generation of strategic alliances in the defense sector for the construction of a modern shipyard and industrial production of ships with Hyundai Heavy Industries; in military industrial co-production and technology transfer for vehicles armed with Hyundai Rotem and transfer of technology in construction of military airplanes with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Additionally, more than 200 Korean companies have all kinds of presence in Peru, since it represents a gateway to Latin America, not only because of its strategic position in the Pacific Ocean, but also because of its macroeconomic stability and respect for Foreign Investment. (FDI). This has allowed that currently Korean companies have invest more than USD 6,700 million in Peru.
Please introduce tourist attractions in Peru for Korean tourists abroad.
Most Tourists who visit Peru from the Asian region come from China, Japan and Korea. The recent facilities to visit Peru and the increase in the flight connections in these countries have increased tourist arrivals. Before COVID-19, the number of Korean visitors to Peru was 32,133 Koreans per year and we expect to recover this number in the near future.
Peru has 3 main regions (coast, Andean and forest/Jungle). This let Peru to offer so different landscapes, activities and sports. It also applies to the excellent regional gastronomy with exotic products and a fusion with different migrations received during our history.
Machu Picchu is both a cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since its rediscovery in 1911, growing numbers of tourists have visited the site each year, with numbers exceeding 1.5 million in 2019 As Peru's most visited tourist attraction, and a major revenue generator, it is continually exposed to economic and commercial forces.
Although Machu Picchu is the main attraction of the tourist circuit of Cusco, there are other important destinations in that region such as Chinchero, Saqsayhuamán, Choquequirao, the mountain of 7 colors and, one of the main attractions is the city of Cusco itself.
Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountain range and is one of the largest lakes in South America and the highest navigable body of water in the world. It is said that it is the cradle of the Incas and has several ruins. Its waters are known for being calm and giving a brilliant reflection. In its surroundings, the Titicaca National Reserve is located, which houses rare aquatic species, such as giant frogs.
Ica is one of our main tourism destinations. Its geographical location close to the airport hub that Lima represents, allows millions of people to visit the various wonders it has to offer every year. The best known are the Nazca Lines, which with a veil of mystery, adorn the Peruvian desert. Likewise, the Huacachina oasis offers adventure tourists the opportunity to practice various sports such as sandboarding and riding boogie cars, which travel through the desert at high speeds.
There are endless tourist destinations in Peru. Among them, far from the water, are: Kuélap, which is the Machu Picchu of northern Peru; the Manu reserve, which is one of the largest fauna and flora reserves in Peru; the citadel of Caral, which has more than 5,000 years of history making us one of the six cradle of civilization.
Please let us know your point of view on the strengthening further the economic and cultural ties between the two countries in the years to come.
It is relevant how the new Peruvian generation is becoming more and more followers of Korea, particularly due to the influence of its music, movies and gastronomy. With increasing frequency, K-pop groups are visiting Peru and even young nationals are dabbling in this music with projects that can be described as fusion, such as the case of Lenin Tamayo, a Peruvian artist who creates “Quechua Pop”, like Peruvian version of K-Pop, who will come to Korea on October.
Likewise, other elements linked to technology, beauty products and educational excellence are also highly appreciated by the Peruvian population. More and more young people from our country choose Korea to carry out their undergraduate and graduate studies with whom we try to become, at the same time, promoters of Peru and contribute to our greater understanding and share our similarities.
In this sense, it is the job of the Embassy in my charge to be able to reciprocate this, making Peru known in Korea for transcendental elements such as Pisco, spirit of our country; the potato, a tuber that we have promoted together with the Korean Food Promotion Institute during its first international day on May 30, as well as various economic and cultural elements that we will develop during these years.
On the other hand, we seek, as I expressed a moment ago, that this excellent relationship at the official level also translates into exchanges between our populations that have the potential to show the similarities between Korea and Peru as heirs of an ancient culture, proud of its multiple traditions and artistic manifestations and with an internationally recognized and widely spread gastronomy. I am sure that in this endeavor we will continue to bridge distances, cultural differences and language barriers between our countries.
