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| Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Daul Matute-Mejia speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 18. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Peru is rich with natural resources. The South American country's main export items are copper and gold, and Korea is the second-largest importer of its copper, which is an essential material for semiconductor chips.
On the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Peru and Korea, Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Daul Matute-Mejia hopes to elevate the relationship to another level.
"Peru and Korea have a complementary agenda. And also Peruvians and Koreans work very well together. In addition to this important comprehensive strategic partnerships, we had been signed a free trade agreement one year before in 2011 and this has contributed to the fast growth of bilateral trade and investment in each other," Ambassador Matute-Mejia said during an interview with The Korea Times at his residence in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 18.
The Korea-Peru FTA contributed greatly in expanding the scope of trade between the two countries. According to the embassy, Korea is Peru's fourth-largest trading partner in 2021 with the volume of commercial exchange at around $4.2 billion, which has grown six times bigger since 2010. The trade balance has been positive for Peru, while the service balance has been favorable to Korea.
At the ambassador's residence are many artworks from Peruvian painters as well as many metal crafts from the country, such as silver vases, giving a peek into the country's rich mineral resources.
"Korea needs a lot of copper and we export the copper that Korea needs for its industry, especially for the Fourth Industrial Revolution industries such as semiconductors and batteries. (Considering) all the kinds of use for copper, copper has become a very a strategic mineral in the world, and Peru is a big producer of copper as well as other minerals."
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| Open-pit copper mine in Peru / gettyimages |
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is another important export of Peru increasing volume steadily from 2019 through 2021, and Korea has also invested in a Peruvian LNG plant.
"Peru has been exporting copper and other minerals to Korea, but we produce gas and transform the gas into liquid and we export LNG to Korea. During the time I'm here the natural gas produced with participation of Korean companies is 17.8 percent of the total production of gas in Peru," he said.
Copper, other minerals and LNG take up over 80 percent of Peru's exports to Korea, but Ambassador Matute-Mejia hopes to expand the scope and sees great potential in another area as well ― agricultural products.
"The second year of sales of the fresh Peruvian Hass avocado in Korea had a growth of export amount of a little more than 100 percent. In this sense, Peru has quickly become the largest avocado import destination for Koreans," he said.
"In the future, we expect to introduce (Peruvian) pomegranate, citrus lemon and blueberries to Korea. Peruvian fresh products and superfoods will be new products that will enter Korea in the next few years, making Koreans have very good quality products at low prices."
While Peru exports mainly minerals and gas to Korea, Korea balances the trade with technological products.
"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," Matute-Mejia said.
"In the field of investment, it is important to point out that various Korean companies have a presence in Peru."
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| Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains is the most popular tourist destination in Peru. Courtesy of Embassy of Peru in Korea |
The ambassador mentioned a Korean-led consortium that has won a new airport project in Chinchero, Peru, which serves as a gateway to Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains.
"This new project will represent the entrance of tourists to our wonder of the world: Machu Picchu," he said.
"Additionally, more than 40 Korean companies have all kinds of presence in Peru with more than $4 billion Korean investment in Peru in the last four years, because Peru is a gateway to Latin America with its strategic position in the Pacific Ocean, macroeconomic stability and respect for foreign investment."
Korea also provides official development assistance (ODA) to Peru to support balanced development of the country.
"Peru recognizes the ODA as an important component that contributes to national development and that will allow us to close structural gaps and mobilize the resources required for our development," the ambassador said.
"For this reason, the country assumes commitments and responsibilities to ensure that the ODA is aligned with the priorities of national development and the Sustainable Development Goals to 2030."
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| Kuelap Fortress in northern Peru is built by the Chachapoyas culture in the 6th century. Courtesy of Embassy of Peru in Korea |
Peru receives the fourth-most Korean ODA in Latin America, and the ambassador sees potential for cooperation in three areas ― digital government, health and environmental protection.
"Peru considers Korea an important cooperating partner that will help us face the new challenges of development and address issues such as the pandemic and climate change, among others," he said.
"Korea has very high technology, very good educated people and can work very rapidly ― 'ppalli ppalli.' The matching between Peruvian workers, technicians and engineers and technicians and engineers from Korea is perfect and we can work together in a good condition with respect for each other."
Korea and Peru will commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year and the ambassador "firmly believes that the Korea-Peru relationship will strengthen in so many levels."
"We believe that the relationship between the two countries will only grow in the future since, as I mentioned earlier, we are complementary countries. In this area, we hope that Peru can provide the minerals that South Korea needs to support its growth while, thanks to cooperation and foreign direct investment, Korea could be part of Peru's industrialization process," he said.
