Peru's Minister for Foreign Trade and Tourism, Ms Mercedes Araoz and Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang have announced the successful conclusion of negotiations for the Peru-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Peru is Singapore's 17th largest trading partner in Latin America, while Singapore is Peru's largest destination for manufactured exports in Southeast Asia. Total trade grew 55 per cent from 2005 to stand at US$45.2 million (S$68.8 million) in 2006.

Negotiations were conducted on the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Sydney, Australia today. The two ministers will recommend the results of the negotiations to their respective governments. Some of the recommendations are the facilitation of trade between the two countries by enhancing cooperation and improving transparency. Both countries are also committed to ensuring that companies from the other party would be able to compete on an equal footing with domestic suppliers for government procurement contracts.

The agreement would also cover 100 per cent of traded products between Singapore and Peru. Over 87 per cent of Singapore's total exports to Peru will benefit from duty free treatment once the treaty kicks in, while tariffs for the rest of Singapore's exports there will be phased out over a 10 year period.

The Peru-Singapore FTA is expected to be signed within the next few months. It will enhance the relations between Peru and Singapore and form another economic link across the Pacific between Latin America and Asia. The Agreement will also help advance shared objectives in APEC and the WTO.