The Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Teresa Mera, announced that Peru and Thailand are in the final stages of negotiating a trade agreement, which could be concluded this year.
The announcement was made after a bilateral meeting during the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
“We expect to finalize these negotiations this year. The technical teams have made 98% progress, and both parties are willing to sign the agreement during the first quarter of 2026,” Minister Mera emphasized from Gyeongju, South Korea, where she met with Thailand’s Minister of Trade, Ms. Suphajee Suthumpun.
During her agenda at APEC, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) mentioned that she also held a bilateral meeting with the Philippine Vice Minister of Trade, Allan B. Gepty, in which they announced the conclusion of negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Peru-Philippines Joint Commission.
This instrument paves the way for the process of initiating negotiations on a trade agreement with the Southeast Asian country.
“The Philippines is completing its internal procedures, and we expect to sign the memorandum before December of this year,” she noted.
The minister also highlighted the meetings held with Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong, in which topics related to investment promotion and cooperation in the digital economy were addressed.
At the APEC ministerial sessions, Peru emphasized the importance of trade facilitation and the digitalization of customs and logistics processes. Minister Mera presented the country's progress in strengthening the Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE), a platform that centralizes procedures related to foreign trade.
She also highlighted the results achieved by the VUCE in Peru.
“Between January and September of this year, more than 582,000 procedures were processed, generating savings of over 116 million soles (around 34.2 million dollars) for users. This tool has eliminated the use of paper and strengthened transparency,” she emphasized.
Peru in OECD by 2027
Finally, Minister Mera reported on Peru's progress in its accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), following a meeting with the organization's Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann.
She highlighted that on October 17, the technical team from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) presented the progress made on economic and trade matters to the OECD's Trade Committee.
"We have received positive feedback (...). Peru's full membership in the OECD could be ready by 2027," she explained.
(END) NDP / MDV
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Publicado: 30/10/2025