President Barack Obama welcomed Peruvian counterpart Ollanta Humala to the White House Tuesday, in Washington’s latest effort to meet a deadline to seal a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Obama said Peru was one of the top US allies and trade partners in the Western Hemisphere, and congratulated his guest for sustaining high economic growth rates.
“For both the United States and Peru, growth is also dependent on our continued expansion in the global marketplace,” Obama said.
“That’s why I’m very glad that Peru and the United States are working so closely together in finalizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
Obama bills the TPP, which would encompass 40 percent of the global economy, as a “high-standard, high-level trade agreement” uniting the “most dynamic and fastest-growing region of the world.”
Delegations from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam hope to conclude the pact before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bali in October.
Building momentum behind TPP talks was also a central topic of a White House encounter between Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera earlier this month.
Obama said he and Humala talked about how to deepen common efforts to combat transnational drugs networks through South and Central America.
Along with Colombia, Peru is one of the world’s top producers of coca and cocaine, and the United States is one of the biggest markets for cocaine cartels.
Capping a photo op with reporters, Obama also wished Peru’s national football team luck ahead of its World Cup qualifying clash in Colombia later on Tuesday.
Humala, who is on his first-ever trip to the United States, said Peru would continue to fight drugs production in the Western Hemisphere and work to promote trade and human rights.
“Peru is an important trade partner with the United States. We provide economic growth. We have economic trust. We also provide a legal stability,” Humala said.
He also invited Obama to visit Peru, and quipped that the referee in the World Cup qualifier was from the United States.
“Hopefully the Peruvian team will be so strong that it doesn’t need help from the referee,” Obama said.
Besides Obama, Humala will also meet with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
Obama has stepped up the pace of engagement with Western Hemisphere nations since beginning his second term in January, and recently returned from a trip to Mexico and Costa Rica where he met regional leaders.
Biden just completed a six-day tour that included visits to Brazil, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.
Obama, Humala talk trade, World Cup
