Peru’s Trade, Tourism, and Investment Office in the UAE and GCC has hailed the country’s deepening ties with the UAE following a year in which the Latin American nation recorded $1 billion in total exports to the Emirates. Export levels from Peru to the UAE have increased substantially in the past decade, reaching an aggregate total of more than $4.1 billion for the 10-year period from 2012 to 2021. Amidst the worldwide halt, and after reaching the billion-dollar mark for the first time in 2019, numbers are currently on path towards the same. The UAE imports significant quantities of goods from the South American country including avocados, quinoa, berries, mangoes and asparagus. The data also reveals a substantial flow of capital between the two nations. Peru is the second-biggest investment destination of the UAE in South America, and the third-biggest investor in the UAE from Latin America, according to official figures from the UAE’s Ministry of Economy. A re-adaptation to new structural market demands, refocusing of activities and strategies as well as repositioning synergies between stakeholders have kept Peruvian exports to the UAE on a sustainable trend. Since 2010, major UAE names such as DP World and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have made multi-million-dollar investments in the country’s shipping, logistics, and energy sectors thanks to the increase in trade and improving bilateral relations. Under the theme ‘Timeless, Always Peru’ – a concept crafted by Peru locally – the Expo 2020 Peru pavilion presented an opportunity to introduce Peruvian products to a wider consumption base and thus a weaving of increase in demand.
The country also increased its participation in Gulfood 2022, with a record number of 27 companie. The director of the Trade, Tourism, and Investment Office of Peru-GCC, Alvaro Silva-Santisteban, said: “The UAE and Peru maybe 14,000km apart and nine-time zones difference, but ever-deepening trade ties have brought our nations closer together, being this path only the beginning. “Despite the impact of worldwide occurrences, last year saw our exports on a clear and sustainable path towards 2019 levels -overpass the one billion of exports-. Readaptation, Refocusing and Repositioning has been essential thus an ever-evolving process.” Alvaro Silva-Santisteban added: “The UAE is a catalyst to amplify our reach onto new markets whilst setting trends for new sectors to develop, thus a prominent base for economic drivers to further expand. “Forward-thinking, pragmatism, planning, strategy, and flexible decision making are fundamentals that have allowed us to believe even further on our relations and contribute to new levels and scaling in the coming years.” Bilateral relations between the UAE and Peru – a country of 33 million people – strengthen since the opening of Peru’s Trade, Tourism, and Investment Office in 2011, and in recent years the two nations have witnessed a remarkable increase in official visits to further solidify commercial exchange.
Increasing trade relations with Latin American nations have long been on the agenda for the UAE, with the recent Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF) exploring new avenues of cooperation with countries in the region. A key area of discussion at the forum was how the LATAM region could play a role in meeting Dubai’s target of increasing its global trade from the current $381.16 billion (AED 1.4 trillion) to $544.5 billion (AED 2 trillion) over five years. Also under discussion was the role that Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s three international offices are playing to promote commercial opportunities between Latin American and Caribbean countries and Dubai and the UAE.