on Monday stated that the Peru-United States partnership must translate into tangible results to protect the most vulnerable populations from the potential effects of El Niño phenomenon.
The government official made this statement in Miami this morning, during a meeting between the Peruvian delegation and representatives of the U.S. Southern Command, the Departments of State and War, and U.S. civil society.
The meeting made it possible to assess prevention and response measures in the face of this phenomenon.
In his remarks, Minister Espa said that President Keiko Fujimori's Government will greatly value U.S. cooperation in helping Peru improve its effective response capacity to El Niño, while keeping communities safe and reducing its human impact.
Likewise, the Cabinet member indicated that joining forces will strengthen preparedness and ensure that any assistance reaches affected communities swiftly and effectively.
"When an emergency exceeds a country's response capacity, international solidarity can make a real difference," he noted.
He added that diplomatic missions had been instructed to identify potential donors of humanitarian aid for disaster preparedness and response.
Participants included U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America Luis F. Mendez, among other senior U.S. government officials.
Representing Peru, Director General for Agricultural Development and Agroecology at the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation Alberto Maurer outlined the country's main challenges in this emergency.