Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela announced that the United States government has communicated to the Peruvian Congress its intention to make the Latin American country a major U.S. ally that is not a member of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO). This designation includes strengthening relations between the two countries on defense and financial issues.
“The President of the United States must follow a procedure to designate them as a NATO ally, which consists of notifying Congress at least 30 days in advance. That is exactly what happened. They have already made this notification,” De Zela said in statements reported by Peruvian radio station RPP.
The Peruvian minister announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already informed him of his intention to take this new step at a bilateral meeting a few days ago.
De Zela has assured that the alliance will mean greater opportunities for “joint development of research, equipment and ammunition projects” and for “foreign military financing,” meaning a “privileged position of cooperation and opportunities for our armed forces in terms of military cooperation with the United States.”
“It is a political gesture to declare that Peru is a reliable country in terms of security and defense,” he stressed.
RUBIO WILL VISIT PERU IN THE COMING MONTHS
The head of the government’s Foreign Ministry José Jerí has reported that Marco Rubio will pay an official visit to Peru in the coming months after the meeting in Washington on December 5.
“I don’t have an exact date for Marco Rubio’s visit yet, but it will probably be between February and March. They haven’t given us an exact date yet. He has the greatest interest in coming to our country,” De Zela explained.
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