Peru seeks conclusion of FTA with S. Korea within this year

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde said Tuesday his government hopes to conclude free trade agreement (FTA) talks with South Korea before November.

Meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during his three-day trip here
that began Monday, Belaunde said Peru wants to wrap up the talks before President
Alan Garcia visits Seoul.
The deal, if signed, will be South Korea's second trade agreement with a South
American nation following its FTA with Chile signed in 2003 and enacted the
following year.
The foreign minister's visit follows up on an agreement between the South Korean
and Peruvian presidents, who met last year and agreed to upgrade their countries'
relations to a "comprehensive partnership."
"I was very pleased to see Peru's efforts to maintain a close relationship
between the two countries during my trip to Peru last year," the South Korean
president told Belaunde.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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