Official mission from Peru visits Qatar to prepare for visit of HH Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani ahead of his visit to Peru

The Emir of Qatar will travel to Peru in order to develop and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries especially in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.

"We are glad for the visit of the Emir to our country -the first one ever form a leader in the region- during which a number of agreements and MoUs between the two countries are expected to be signed," said Marcovich.

The focus is on strengthening common interests in trade, environment, tourism, education and promoting investments in gas, energy, real estate, petrochemical industry and agriculture.

Improving the connectivity between the two nations is also a main objective, and would contribute substantially to strengthen the relations between the two countries in the coming years.

During the visit, the Peruvian delegation held meetings with Qatar Airways, Qatar Holding, Qatar Petroleum International and high officials of the Ministry of Energy and Industries, the Supreme Education Council, the Ministry of Trade and Business, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Tourism Authority, among others.

"Peru, like other Latin American nations, has realized the importance of building relations with the GCC states, and the best way to achieve it is through diplomatic missions in the region," said Markovich.

"In the last three years, there has been a phenomenal improvement in the relations between Peru and the GCC countries. Besides Qatar, Peru established embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as a Consulate General and a Trade & Investment Office for the GCC in Dubai," he added.

The Director of the Trade & Investment Office of Peru in Dubai, Alvaro Silva-Santisteban, in representation of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, was part of the delegation.

He emphasized, "Peru has immense natural resources and large tracts of agricultural lands hence could be an important partner in food security."

"Ours is a country with considerable levels of agricultural production. We are the largest producers of asparagus in the world, and we have substantial production of mangoes, avocados, fish meal and oils and evaporated milk - to name a few- for exports," he said, while highlighting the rich natural resources and minerals - including gold, silver and copper- present in Peru.

In this context, Qatar's requirements in its growing construction sector could be effectively met through imports from Peru in the coming years, mentioned Silva Santisteban, who hoped their country would be able to supply large quantities of construction materials while Qatar is on a building spree for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The visit of the Emir of Qatar represents a sample of the good results obtained after the Third Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA), held in October 2012 in Lima, Peru.