( dpa ) - Peru on Monday said it will encourage the creation of a free trade area among Asia-Pacific nations when it hosts an annual summit of the bloc later this year.
The creation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) would strengthen commercial ties in the region, said Ambassador Luis Quesada, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry official in charge of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting November in Lima.
Queseda told reporters that his country hopes to lay the groundwork for the FTAAP in 2008, so that the long-term plan can become a reality in the future.
"What Peru would wish is to set the foundations in 2008 and to leave a good starting point and a good working plan," he said. "We are currently in a phase of study and analysis. Peru is very enthusiastic to launch the work that progresses towards that."
Quesada said the aim "is to create a trans-Pacific movement or an area that guarantees the fluidity of trade and is attractive on both sides of the (Pacific) Ocean."
"The idea of the FTAAP emerges as a counterpart to the proliferation of free trade agreements (with the United States) in the region, and due to inter-regional issues, since in Asia there are a series of agreements or preliminary agreements among Asian nations, and the same thing happens in Latin America," he said.
Quesada noted that Peru is negotiating free trade agreements with China, Singapore and Thailand, an wishes to launch talks towards a similar deal with Japan and South Korea.
Peru is set to host the annual summit of APEC on November 22-23.