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India and Peru have agreed to hold intersessional meetings to address pending issues ahead of the 10th round of negotiations for the proposed India-Peru Trade Agreement, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi in January 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an official statement.
The Ministry stated that India has successfully concluded two key rounds of trade negotiations with partner countries in Latin America, highlighting the government's commitment to expanding economic cooperation and deepening trade linkages with the region. The 9th Round of India-Peru Trade Agreement negotiations was held in Lima, Peru, from November 3-5, 2025. The discussions witnessed substantive progress across key chapters of the proposed Agreement, including Trade in Goods and Services, Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade, Customs Procedures, Dispute Settlement, and Critical Minerals. The Ministry stated, "Both sides agreed to hold intersessional meetings to address pending issues ahead of the next round of negotiations proposed to be held in New Delhi in January 2026". The bilateral merchandise trade between India and Peru in the financial year 2024-25 was about US USD 5.91 billion, of which India's exports to Peru were about US USD 1.002 billion and its imports from Peru around US USD 4.91 billion. The closing ceremony of the ninth round was attended by Teresa Stella Mera Gomez, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, and Cesar Augusto Llona Silva, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, along with senior Peruvian officials. The Indian side was represented by Vishvas Vidu Sapkal, Ambassador of India to Peru, and the Indian delegation led by Vimal Anand, Joint Secretary and Chief Negotiator. In her remarks, Minister Gomez reaffirmed Peru's commitment to the timely conclusion of the negotiations, highlighting the complementarity between both economies. She expressed optimism that the Agreement will enhance trade and investment flows between the two countries. Ambassador Sapkal emphasised India's sustained growth momentum and underlined that the proposed trade agreement would open new avenues for cooperation in sectors such as critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, and food processing. The Commerce Ministry also highlighted that India's engagement with Latin America is gaining momentum, as reflected in the recent conclusion of negotiations with another partner country in the region. Earlier, the 3third Round of India-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations was held in Santiago, Chile, from 27th to 30th October 2025. The discussions in Santiago covered a wide range of chapters, including Trade in Goods and Services, Investment Promotion, Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property Rights, Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (TBT/SPS) measures, Economic Cooperation, and Critical Minerals. Both India and Chile reaffirmed their shared commitment to an early and time-bound conclusion of the CEPA negotiations, which aim to enhance market access, strengthen supply chain resilience, and deepen economic integration. (ANI)
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