US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Peru on Thursday, on the last leg of a tour of South America that took him to Colombia and Chile, and culminates with the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Lima.
The State Department indicated that Blinken will address issues of common interest with his regional counterparts and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the theme of this year’s summit “Together against inequality and discrimination.”
At the forum, Blinken will chair the Inspection Group Implementation Summit, a ministerial-level meeting that will discuss the commitments made at the IX Summit of the Americas and reaffirm the importance of the OAS in advancing democracy, sustainable development, and cooperation. of security in the hemisphere, specified a statement from the State Department.
Blinken will also discuss with the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, and his Foreign Minister César Landa, issues of regional security, strengthening of democracy and the promotion of inclusive economic development.
At the same time, it will highlight the importance of countering unregulated fishing and its impact on local communities and ecosystems.
The statement also underscores the strength of US relations and cooperation with Peru.
Blinken ended a visit to Chile on Wednesday, where he sand met with President Gabriel Boric and applauded “Chile’s leadership in migration, promotion of economic prosperity and fight against climate change.”
In an earlier visit to Colombia on Tuesday, he endorsed President Gustavo Petro’s “holistic approach” in the fight against drug trafficking and visited a Migratory Integration Center in Bogotá to learn about the Colombian capital’s strategy to deal with migratory flows in grade.
The crisis in Peru
The Andean country is mired in a period of political instability, with strong clashes between the Executive Power and Congress, although the popularity of both institutions does not reach 20%, according to recent polls.
So far in his government, Castillo has already faced two vacancy requests in parliament for “moral incapacity” and faces six tax investigations for corruption. The Peruvian president rarely talks with journalists and chooses to address the population through speeches in public squares.
The political noise in this Andean country, a major world producer of metals, keeps investors cautious, while Peruvians grapple with annualized inflation of 8.53% as of September, according to official figures.
“I have the expectation that Secretary of State Antony Blinken can have a frank conversation with President Castillo, in which he explains that the bilateral relationship is based on respect for democratic principles such as the separation of powers, freedom of the press. , strengthening of State institutions”, he told VOA the former Peruvian vice chancellor, Carlos Pareja.
The diplomat also said that he hopes that Blinken and Castillo will talk not only about the “complicated” international situation due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and its effects on the world economy, but also about the need for the Peruvian government to generate “confidence in the investor, in the business community and in general in the international financial community” so that more investments arrive in the country.
President Castillo opened the event on Wednesday before the 24 delegations that are in Lima. Conservative Peruvian sectors have rejected what they consider to be the “progressive agenda of the OAS.” Already on Monday, protesters parked a truck outside Congress with a sign reading “OAS: women are defined by biology, not ideology.”
The Assembly brings together all the countries of the continent and numerous resolutions are expected to be adopted against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the political and human rights crisis in Nicaragua and the security crisis in Haiti.
[Colaboró con este artículo Waldo Serrano, VOA]
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