Hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Mejia of Peru at Grand Hyatt Seoul

On the occasion of the 197th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Peru, Ambassador Daúl Matute Mejia of Peru and Mrs. Maria Gabriela de Matute hosted a reception at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on July 25, 2018.
The reception was attended many distinguished guests from various segments of Korean society and international community.

Ambassador Daúl Matute Mejia (7th from left, front row) poses with other ambassadors.

The guests included Vice Minister Shim bo kyun of the Interior and Security, National Assemblymen Baek Seung-joo, Director General Huh Tae-wan for Latin American Countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Madam Kihak Sung, spouse of the chairman of the Youngone Group who was on the Board of Directors of the Korean Red Cross Society.
There also were many Korean business leaders present at the party, who included Executive Vice President Yong-Gu Kim of Dohwa Engineering.
From the media came publishers and editors who included Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media. Ambassador Mejia made an impressive speech at the meeting.

Ambassador Daúl Matute Mejia is flanked on the left by Madam Kihak Sung, spouse of the chairman of the Youngone Group, who was on the Board of Directors of the Korean Red Cross Society, and other leaders of the KRCS. On the far right is Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media.

Excerpts from the speech follow:

I welcome you all to this celebration for the national day of Peru, which commemorates the independence of my homeland, event that occurred 197 years ago when, on July 28, 1821, Peru began a new stage of its millenary history, as an independent and democratic republic, a fact that contributed to seal the political independence of Latin America as a whole.
At that time, as it was proclaimed by the leader of the liberation fight, general don Jose de san martin, Peru achieved his freedom "by the general will of the peoples and the justice of his cause that god defends".
This famous phrase reflects, mister vice minister, the ideals of Peru as a state and guides our relations with the international community, Peru respects the rights of the peoples and supports fair causes.

Ambassador Daúl Matute Mejia of Peru delivers a welcoming speech to the guests.

For this reason, during this celebration we also reflect on the aspiration of the republic of Korea to restore the climate of peace and stability in the Korean peninsula. It is about a fair cause, which the government of Peru endorses.
Your Excellency mister vice minister
As a member of the united nations security council, Peru has great hopes in the inter-Korean dialogue and the implementation of the Panmunjom agreement, which shall also open a new historical stage, signed by peace, security and prosperity, for the Korean people and the international community as a whole.
Ladies and gentlemen
On this special day, i wish to highlight the maturity of Peruvian democracy, which in the last months effected an ordinated transition of the government that drives the destiny of Peru.
This government continues to implement the master lines of the internal and international policies, conferring, appropriately, a very special attention to the comprehensive strategic partnership that frames Peru’s bilateral relationship with the republic of Korea.
That is why we are full of joy by the opportunity to celebrate our homeland anniversary in this friendly country and in the great company of all of you, who make possible the friendly progress of our bilateral relationship, which this year reached 55 years.
In this context, I wish to emphasize that the Peruvian government is committed to deepen and extend its diplomatic and political links with the Korean government. For this reason, there is a constant exchange of visits between our countries and in the near future we will hold a meeting of the high level political consultations mechanism.
Also, in the field of economic policy, Peru and Korea have great affinity. They are active partners in the Asian pacific economic cooperation forum (ape) and support the development of the international free trade system, participating at the same time in regional integration mechanisms.
In line with this, Peru supports the Korean aspiration to become an associated member of the pacific alliance integration scheme, following the procedures established for this purpose. On our part, Peru welcomes the Korean support for the Peruvian objective of being admitted as a full member of the oecd.
In the same way, in so far as Peru has assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Andean community of nations (can) and of the pacific alliance, we will continue revitalizing international trade and facilitating economic cooperation and the relations between our countries and their partners.
In the field of bilateral trade, since 2011 we are implementing a free trade agreement with Korea, which lead this country to become one of the most outstanding commercial partners of Peru. There is still a great margin to widen and deepen the mutual and complementary participation in our respective markets, with high quality products and services, as well as to establish highly profitable value chains.
Korea is also an important source of the new wave of investment that my country requires to develop its physical and productive infrastructure, strengthen defense and security, increase connectivity and communications, establish integrated logistic platforms, create intelligent cities with green growth, promote start-ups and various applications of science and technology, to improve the living standards of my countrymen and, at the same time, offer mutual benefits to our Korean counterpart.
As you know, to launch this kind of initiatives, Peru organizes annually an investment roadshow in Korea, like the one organized last May. We also participate, with high level representatives, in events such as the "forum for the future cooperation of korea-latin America and the Caribbean", where we were present in June, with a member of the congress of Peru in attendance. In September, we are preparing our participation in the "global conference of infrastructure cooperation", to which high authorities of the mining and housing sectors have been invited.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Korean cooperation is highly significant in economic and social development projects in Peru, as well as in the exchange of experiences in the protection of the environment and in supporting efforts in progress for the mitigation and adaptation against the climatic change. In particular, i would like to highlight the Korean support for the strengthening of the professional and labor capacities of Peruvians, which has allowed nearly a hundred Peruvian students to study in different Korean universities.
I publicly express the recognition of the Peruvian government for this collaboration, and also for the solidary assistance that Korea, its companies and citizens extended to Peru to face the disaster caused by el niño phenomenon in 2017.
On the other hand, i am pleased to note the accentuated interest of our respective civil societies in knowing more of each the other. This is reflected in the constant increase of Korean tourists, an element that was highlighted in the recent high level dialogue on tourism, in which the Peruvian vice minister of tourism participated, in June.
There is also great interest in the projection of television programs that shown tourist attractions, the idiosyncrasy and news about Peru in this country. For our part, the Peruvian society, especially young people have given a friendly and special welcome to k-pop and k-drama programs that Peruvian television broadcast.
Aware of these trends, with the support of promperu, the embassy of Peru and its commercial office opened the doors of the "casa Peru" in gangneung, during the last winter Olympics. There, we displayed Peruvian products such as "superfoods”, coffee, pisco and Peruvian textiles. The embassy i lead will keep "casa Peru" as a token of friendship to the Korean people. We have also brought to the reach of the Korean public different samples of Peruvian culture, through film festivals, photographic exhibitions, musical events and handicrafts exhibitions.
To conclude, i would like to highlight and appreciate the sponsorship of those companies committed to the development of Peru: Korea aerospace industries (kai); dohwa engineering co. Ltd, sk innovation, hyundai motor group and hyundai rotem co. Which have made it possible to organize this celebration as well as to present to you the renowned Peruvian gastronomy and its flag drink, pisco, which you can enjoy in brief. (yonhap)

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