China signs free trade pact with Peru, bolstering Beijing’s links with Latin America

October 13th, 2009 LIMA - Peru President Alan Garcia has awarded the Medal of Honour of first grade to the visiting United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan here Tuesday, WAM news agency reported. The Peruvian leader also called for bolstering Peru-UAE trade ties.

October 11th, 2009 ABU DHABI - Australia is seeking a free trade agreement with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), WAM news agency reported Sunday. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Trade Minister Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi and Australia's foreign affairs department secretary Dennis Richardson held a discussion in this regard here Sunday.

October 1st, 2009 YRC Worldwide unit inks Minera Chinalco Peru dealOVERLAND Park, Kan. — A unit of trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc.

August 29th, 2009 EU signs trade pact with southeast African nationsBRUSSELS — The European Union signed a temporary trade pact Saturday with Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Madagascar calling for tariffs on European goods to be removed over the next 15 years. The four countries in southeast Africa have had full access to the EU consumer market — the world's biggest — since the start of 2008 for most goods.

August 17th, 2009 Corcoran named AP Latin America enterprise editorNEW YORK — Katherine Corcoran, an editor at the Latin America Desk of The Associated Press and a former teacher and innovator in community journalism, has been promoted to the new position of enterprise editor for Latin America and the Caribbean. John Daniszewski, senior managing editor, made the announcement Monday.

August 16th, 2009 Mexico's president favor trade deal with BrazilSAO PAULO — Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he supports the idea of a free trade agreement between Brazil and Mexico, the two biggest economies in Latin America. Calderon says he's enthusiastic about the idea of a deal proposed by Brazilian business executives to push for a commercial accord for the two nations.

August 16th, 2009 Chavez: Venezuela to strengthen ties with alliesCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela's ties with nations like Russia and China have gained importance as the U.S. moves to expand its military presence in Latin America.

August 15th, 2009 BANGKOK - China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Saturday signed an investment pact that provides guarantees against nationalisation, riots and disputes and is expected to boost investment. "The ASEAN-China Investment Agreement is expected to boost bilateral investments by 40 to 60 percent over the next two years," Thai Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said after inking the pact with Chinese Commerce Minister Chen De-ming.

August 13th, 2009 BANGKOK - India on Thursday signed the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement in Goods following the meeting of the ASEAN-India Economic Ministers held in Bangkok. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma and ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the pact on trade in goods under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

July 31st, 2009 The name of a small but confident company from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu has inspired confidence among Latin American clients in Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Argentina, who have given it orders worth $500,000 for textile machinery. And this, perhaps, is only the beginning.

May 13th, 2009 Peru gives refuge to 2 officials sought by BoliviaLIMA, Peru — Peru gave refuge to two more former Bolivian government ministers who fled genocide charges for the 2003 army killings of dozens of protesters, Peru's foreign minister said Tuesday. Bolivia had been demanding that Peru hand over the two ex-officials as well as a third granted political asylum in April, in a case that has further strained relations between the two South American neighbors.

May 12th, 2009 Asylum fight heating up Bolivia-Peru tensionsLA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia demanded Monday that Peru hand over three former government ministers charged with genocide in the 2003 killing of dozens of protesters, and President Evo Morales called asylum an "open provocation of the Bolivian people." Peruvian President Alan Garcia granted asylum to one of the former officials — Jorge Torres — in April and is reviewing requests from the other two. The fight is worsening already poor relations between the neighboring South American nations, which have been at odds since Garcia, an economic liberal, and Morales, a leftist, took office in 2006.

May 6th, 2009 Stocks rising in Latin AmericaMEXICO CITY — Stocks are rising in Latin America, with investors tracking a world markets rally on signs of slowing job losses in the United States. The Ibovespa index in Brazil is up 1.3 percent to 51,280 on Wednesday.

April 18th, 2009 Taiwan to discuss trade agreement with ChinaTAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan will discuss a partial free trade agreement with China and sign pacts to enhance economic cooperation during high-level talks in late April, negotiators said Saturday. President Ma Ying-jeou has worked aggressively since taking office last May to turn a corner on his predecessor's anti-China policy and improve economic and trade ties with the mainland.

March 30th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's engineering industry, which saw 20 percent fall in exports this fiscal, should focus on increasing trade with the 'untapped' markets in Latin America and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a top industry leader said here Monday. 'Exports to Latin American countries have increased from $1 billion in 2006-07 to $1.15 billion in 2007-08, which proves that these markets are largely untapped,' Mahesh K.