S’pore, Peru to build on 40 years of friendship, cooperation
On Oct 27, 1980, the governments of Peru and Singapore exchanged formal notes to establish officially bilateral diplomatic relations.
The notes were signed by the Peruvian Ambassador Juan Calle and the Singaporean Ambassador Tommy Koh, who were at that time representatives of their countries to the United Nations.
The world has changed significantly in the past 40 years, but it is highly probable that in 1980, nobody could have imagined the relevance achieved currently by our bilateral ties.
In those days, the process of globalisation was just looming on the horizon. But even then the emergence of the so-called “Asian tigers”, with Singapore among them, was drawing the attention of international experts.
Peru was bent on reinforcing its links with Asian countries located on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. This decision was spurred by the creation in 1989 of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) and the possibility of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, the most important engine of global economic growth.
The Peruvian strategy to join Apec as a full member included the establishment of resident embassies in Asian countries, and in 1992, Peru decided to open its first embassy in Singapore. Apec may have acted as a spur to forge new links but the ties between Peru and Asia go back much further.
In the middle of the 19th century, due to scarcity of manpower in the countryside, Peruvian businessmen travelled to China to hire labourers to work in their plantations and mines.
Between 1849 and 1874, almost 100,000 Chinese workers, mostly from Guangdong and Fujian provinces, arrived in Peru. Many of them decided to settle down in the host country and mixed with the local people.
As a consequence, 10 per cent of the current Peruvian population are descendants of those Chinese migrants and have created new cultural expressions which merged Chinese and local influences, such as “Chifa” food, in a way very similar to the evolution of Peranakan cuisine in Singapore.
To regulate such migration, Peru was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with China under the
Qing dynasty in 1874 when both countries signed a Treaty of Amity, Trade and Navigation.
At the end of the 19th century, the arrival of the first Japanese migrants enriched the Asian presence in Peru. Now Peru has the largest Chinese community in Latin America and the second-largest Japanese community.
This exceptional historic experience encouraged curiosity about Asian culture in Peru and has been one of the drivers of its efforts to build connections with Asian countries from the 20th century to today.
Since the admission of Peru as a full member of Apec in 1998, the growth in its ties with Singapore has experienced greater momentum as a result of developments in two specific spheres: economic issues and political coincidences in multilateral fora regarding global matters of mutual interest.
In economic terms, one of the milestones of diplomatic relations was the signing of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2008 during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s participation in the Apec Summit in Lima.
Since then, bilateral trade has risen at an average annual rate of 23 per cent. The benefits of the FTA also included investments, as a growing number of companies based in Singapore has been involved in Peruvian projects in sectors such as energy, fisheries, agribusiness and maritime services.
In 2018, both countries signed an air services agreement aimed at enhancing connectivity between them, and Peru is interested in joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement recently promoted by Singapore and other countries.
At the multilateral level, Peru and Singapore have maintained similar positions on issues relevant to the international community, such as climate change and the need to implement the Paris Agreement; the upholding of intellectual property rights; the fight against drug trafficking; maritime security; and, lately, the imperative of supporting the principle of free trade and the commercial international system based on rules.
Along these lines, Peru and Singapore participate in the Alliance for Multilateralism to promote the rule of law and cooperation as a means to effectively face the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Likewise, Peru is a member of the Global Governance Group led by Singapore and firmly endorses priorities promoted by this initiative, such as strengthening of global preparedness and response to Covid- 19 and other infectious diseases; resilience in global supply chains; and digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The current negotiations for Singapore to become an associate member of the Pacific Alliance (PA), comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, could be yet another building block to stronger bilateral ties.
The successful conclusion of these negotiations would reaffirm our commitment to free trade and increase commerce and investments between Singapore and this bloc of Latin American countries.
Peru could become a gateway for Singapore to enhance its presence in the region, particularly in areas of growing relevance, such as agribusiness and aquaculture.
Meanwhile, PA and Asean are developing a joint working plan to reinforce cooperation on issues of common interest, such as digital economy and education.
While Peru and Singapore are geographically far apart, history offers parallels and unexpected connections that will resonate with the people of our two nations. Let us build upon those foundations to build more bridges to 40 more years of friendship and cooperation.