Building bridges between Peru and Germany

“Peru is among those countries with great potential – particularly with regard to its cooperation with Germany,” Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Lima on 16 February. Peru is the second stage on the Minister’s trip to Latin America. “We are seeing here in Peru as well that Latin America really is a continent on the rise,” Westerwelle said.

Westerwelle and Roncagliolo
© photothek / Köhler

Foreign Minister Westerwelle and Peruvian Foreign Minister Roncagliolo

Westerwelle and Roncagliolo

The negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Peru, he went on, had been conducted against the background of the economic possibilities and potential. Negotiations for the agreement have been concluded, but it has not yet entered into force. Westerwelle assured his Peruvian counterpart, Rafael Roncagliolo, that he would do what he could to ensure that the agreement enters into force as soon as possible.

In Westerwelle’s view, the agreement was “an important boost for relations between the EU and Peru, and also for relations between Germany and Peru” which would give them a new dynamism. “Free trade creates growth. It creates prosperity for all,” he said.

Westerwelle meets Peruvian President Ollanta Humala
© Photothek/Köhler

Westerwelle meets Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Lima

Westerwelle meets Peruvian President Ollanta Humala

“We want to intensify relations with Peru not only for economic reasons, but obviously also for strategic political interests as well.” Westerwelle commended the work of the Peruvian Government under President Humala: “We too are convinced that the market economy and social participation go hand in hand.” The new Government, the Minister went on, had opened up new possibilities for cooperation.

Cooperation in higher education

Foreign Minister Westerwelle on Plaza Mayor in the centre of Lima

Foreign Minister Westerwelle on Plaza Mayor in Lima

Foreign Minister Westerwelle on Plaza Mayor in the centre of Lima

Foreign Minister Westerwelle on Plaza Mayor in Lima

Westerwelle emphasized that Germany wants to intensify and expand relations with Peru in the cultural and scientific spheres too: young people, he said, are the ones to build “the most stable bridge between our countries”. During the Minister’s visit, the German Academic Exchange Service and a group of three Peruvian universities signed an agreement on up to 100 co‑financed scholarships per year for Peruvian students wishing to work towards a Masters degree in Germany.

“We want far more exchange between young people; that’s why the signing of this agreement is a milestone in our relations,” Westerwelle said. It was not primarily a matter of business links, he went on, but rather of the transfer of knowledge, of research partnerships. “What we want is a partnership between equals, a partnership that will be to our mutual benefit,” Westerwelle summed up.

Foreign Minister Roncagliolo emphasized that Peru was committed to the idea of free trade. With the entry into force of the free trade agreement 25% of Peru’s foreign trade would be free. Roncagliolo also said that, just like Germany in the EU, Peru was committed to integration and solidarity within South America. The two men had found that their positions broadly overlapped, stressed Roncagliolo; the two countries, he said, were “thinking in the same direction”. He announced that Peru’s President would pay a visit to Germany in the near future.

Germany, Europe and Latin America

Lane of honour for the German Foreign Minister © photothek / Köhler

Lane of honour for the German Foreign Minister

In addition to his political talks in Lima, Foreign Minister Westerwelle also gave a speech at PUCP University. He recalled the long tradition of German-Peruvian relations. Many Peruvians were familiar with Alexander von Humboldt’s name, for instance, while Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa’s books were very popular in Germany. German archaeologists had played a major role in uncovering and preserving the amazing cultural heritage in the Andean region, and Peruvian director Claudia Llosa won the Golden Bear at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.

Latin America and Europe are linked by shared values and interests. Germany had recently decided to raise its relations with Latin America to a new level, Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle said, as illustrated by the Federal Government’s 2011 Strategy on Latin America and the Caribbean.

In particular, economic relations between the two regions have developed enormously. While Germany’s total foreign trade volume increased by approximately 24% between 2005 and 2010, its trade with Latin America grew by no less than 60% over the same period. Germany is Latin America’s most important trading partner within the EU.

Above and beyond these economic ties, however, there are ever-expanding links between the two regions in the fields of academia, science and innovation too. The Technische Universität Ilmenau runs a mechanical engineering course at PUCP University, where the Minister was speaking, and a German Academic Exchange Service lector works there. The agreement on scholarships for Peruvian students in Germany, which was signed on the day of the Minister’s visit, is intended to give a further boost to these ties. Because exchange must set itself even more ambitious goals, Foreign Minister Westerwelle is convinced.

Pictures from Foreign Minister Westerwelle's trip to Latin America

(These pictures may be reproduced without permission for press purposes provided that the copyright is acknowledged.)

Last updated 16.02.2012

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