Magali Silva Velarde - Alvarez, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, said that, in the second half of this year, Peru and Indonesia would begin negotiations to reach an agreement that favours preferential trade between both countries.
After reaching an agreement with the Indonesia's Ministry of Commerce, regarding the next steps of the negotiation process, the Peruvian official said they had created a working group that would conduct a Joint Feasibility Study to identify potential trade and investment between the two economies.
"A preferential agreement between Peru and Indonesia will strengthen bilateral relations with the largest, and one of the most dynamic, economies in Southeast Asia," said Minister Silva. She also noted that this agreement was part of Peru's market diversification strategy for their exports.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, expectations are that the joint study will be completed in May, after which formal negotiations would begin.
It's worth noting that Indonesia can be an important market for Peruvian products, as it is a country of 248 million inhabitants and has an $867,000 million dollars GDP.
In 2013, trade between the two countries amounted to US $312 million.
Source: marcotradenews.com