Josep Borrell begins his first official visit to Latin America in Peru

Lima, Oct 31 (EFE) .- The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, begins tomorrow, Monday, a two-day official visit to Peru that will allow him to meet with President Pedro Castillo and other high authorities of the Andean country.
Peru will be the first country in Latin America that the head of European diplomacy will visit since he took office in December 2019, after which he will travel to Brazil on November 3.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that the objective of this visit “is to strengthen both bilateral relations and regional cooperation.”
The high representative will seek to “consolidate the interest in working together in favor of a constructive bilateral, regional and multilateral agenda and promoting sustainable development, trade, the fight against poverty and drug trafficking,” the EU delegation explained. in Peru.
He added that this visit also “should confirm the importance of promoting post-pandemic economic and social recovery in a sustainable and equitable manner.”
As announced, Borrell will meet tomorrow, Monday, with the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Óscar Maúrtua, with whom he will later offer a joint press conference, after which he will participate in a lunch with the business sector and political analysts.
Borrell and Maúrtua already met on September 23 in New York, within the framework of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations.
On that occasion, they reaffirmed the will to strengthen relations between Peru and the EU to face global and regional challenges such as climate change, the fight against poverty and covid-19, according to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry at this time.
Their new meeting will take place in Lima shortly after the EU announced, on October 29, that it had recommended to its member states that they lift the restrictions due to COVID-19 on citizens from Peru.
On Tuesday, Borrell will meet with the president of Congress, María del Carmen Alva, and with the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, as well as representatives of civil society.
In addition, he will attend the exhibition “Denying the desert”, which is sponsored by the EU and is presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lima (MAC).
Borrell will also visit a project developed by the EU in the Chorrillos district of Lima to promote gender equality and facilitate the insertion of women in the labor market.
The EU highlighted that in 2012 it signed a Free Trade Agreement with Peru and that since 2016 Peruvian citizens can travel without a visa to the European Schengen area.
According to data from the Peruvian state agency Proinversión, the EU, excluding the United Kingdom, positioned itself as one of the main economic allies of the Andean country by registering investments for 7,663 million dollars that represented 29% of the total investments made in Peru in 2019.
On November 3, the head of European diplomacy will travel to Brazil, where he will meet with representatives of the private sector in Sao Paulo, and the following day, in Brasilia, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França; with the Minister of Defense, Walter Braga, and with the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco.
In addition, he plans to meet with other representatives of the Brazilian Government and study centers, as well as visit the center that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has in Brasilia to receive Venezuelan migrants.

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