Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari met Peru's Minister of Foreign Trade, Magali Silva Velarde-Alvarez on Tuesday in order to boost economic ties between the two nations.
Ansari arrived in Peru on October 26 with an aim to boost bilateral ties and seek greater trade and investment with the Latin American country, which is rich in minerals and hydrocarbons.
Earlier on October 28, Ansari presided over a function that saw the signing of four bilateral agreements with Peru,including one on defence cooperation and another for the establishment of a joint commission.
These agreements were signed at the end of Ansari's three-day visit to the Latin America country.
Addressing a news conference in Lima, Secretary (West) Dinkar Khullar said that opportunities for training in defence were also discussed.
"We singed a defence co-operation agreement to promote exchanges in training and collaboration in defence technology. In fact, specifically, the President in his conversation with the Vice President raised the issue of possibility of exchanges in the defence field for training," he said.
Ansari's visit to Peru is of great significance, as Peru is the sixth largest economy in Latin America and the fastest growing in the region.
India is looking forward to improve trade ties with Lima as the country has rich deposits of minerals and hydrocarbons. Bilateral trade between India and Peru in 2012 was USD 1.68 billion.
India-Peru relations have traditionally been cordial and friendly and Lima is also a member of NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), a group of states that is not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc and G77 (a group to promote its members; collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations).
