General:
India and Peru continue to have significant interactions at the highest political level during International events. India-Peru relations have traditionally been, and continue to be, cordial and friendly, with the two sides celebrating 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2008. An increasing economic and business content to the relations has been added since the mid 1990s. Both sides share similar positions against terrorism and Peru supports a bilateral resolution of the J&K issue. Overall, Peru’s membership of regional organisations like the Andean Community, the Rio Group, APEC, G-15 and NAM have given it added importance for India. On the Peruvian side, an enhanced interest in the Asian region due to APEC membership, coupled with India’s image as a technologically advanced democratic developing country as well as growing bilateral trade, has enhanced India’s importance.

Official Interaction:
High-level official visits include the important visit by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha to Lima in June 2003, during which Peru formally extended its support to India's candidature of an expanded UN Security Council. During this visit, India also established formal dialogue mechanism with the Andean Community (which is headquartered in Lima) and also held a meeting with the Rio Group (under the Peruvian rotating Presidency). Minister of State for defense Sh. Rao Inderjit Singh visited Lima in June 2006 promoting defense ties. Earlier, President K. R. Narayanan visited Peru in May 1998. A visit by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1968 was aborted after Smt. Gandhi reached Lima airport due to a coup in Peru. EAM Y. B. Chavan also visited Lima to attend the NAM Ministerial Meeting in Lima in 1975.

From the Peruvian side, President Fujimori visited India in 1997 while President Alan Garcia visited India in 1987. First Lady of Peru, Eliane Karp, attended the “Dialogue among Civilisations” conference in July 2003 in New Delhi as a Special Invitee of GoI. The Peruvian Congress has set up an Indo-Peru Parliamentary friendship league, and two Vice-Speakers from the Peruvian Congress went to India to participate in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Indian parliament in January 2003. The two countries also hold regular Bilateral Foreign Office Consultations.

Bilateral Cooperation:
A large number of important bilateral cooperation agreements exist in areas like Antarctic exploration, agricultural research, space research, software, tourism, etc. The two countries are exploring possibilities of cooperation in areas like IT, defence, handicrafts, etc. A Protocol for Cooperation between NASSCOM and the Peruvian Chamber of Software (CPS) was signed in 1997 to promote IT interaction and establish a Joint Council for cooperation between Indian and Peruvian IT industries. A working Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between CSIR, India and National Council of Science and Technology (CONCYTEC) of Peru was signed for the periods 1989-90 and 1995-97 under the S&T Cooperation Agreement of 1975. FICCI has signed an agreement with CONFIEP (its Peruvian counterpart) to set up a Joint Business Council in 1997.

India has also signed and agreement for the establishment of a mechanism of political consultation and cooperation with the Andean Community in 2003. The utilization of the 10 slots for civilian training annually under ITEC by Peru has been satisfactory. Peru has been sending candidates regularly for the UN Peacekeeping training courses held by CUNPK and USI in New Delhi and to the PCFD courses. Both India and Peru are members of the Group of Like-Minded Mega Diverse Countries. An agreement on abolition of visas on diplomatic and official passports came into force from October 2004.

Bilateral Cooperation:
Bilateral trade has grown sharply in the last few years to over US$ 463 million annually. Indian exports during 2007 were US$ 252.23 million (cif) while Indian imports were US$ 210.0 million (fob). India exports a wide diversity of goods to Peru like drugs & pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals, two wheelers / three wheelers & their parts, automobile parts, rubber tyres, yarns, textile & readymade garments, electrical and other machinery, iron and steel products, etc. On the other hand, the main imports from Peru are minerals and concentrates, fishmeal, rough silver, etc.

A number of Indian companies visit Peru regularly and Indian products are establishing their presence in the Peruvian market in fields like pharmaceuticals, two and three wheelers, as well as textiles. Bajaj two-wheelers are a common sight on Peruvian roads.

In IT, Aptech has entered the Peruvian market and has established relationships with various educational institutions and government agencies for their IT requirements.
NIIT has also signed an agreement with ISIL tech, San Ignacio de Loyola, to impart IT degree courses along with engineering degrees inside a combined curriculums.

Pharmaceutical companies like Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy’s, Cipla, Cadila, Lupin, Mission Pharmaceuticals, etc. have also opened offices in Peru while others are making investment plans in areas like mining and jewellery. There is also potential for Indian investment in Peru in textiles, leather, etc in order to take advantage of the US trade preferences under the ATPDEA granted to Andean countries and the recent Free Trade Agreement between the US and Peru. 

Many Indian industrial houses are interested in investing in Peru. Reliance Industries (RI) has signed an MoU with the state firm PetroPeru for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. RI has acquired stakes in three oil blocks.

Among Indian trade delegations which have visited Peru in 2007 were two from CHEMEXCIL, one each from CII an the Indo-latin American Chamber of Commerce.

Culture:
In the cultural sphere, there is a Cultural Agreement between the two countries. A variety of Indian cultural events are also organised from time to time in Peru.

Indian Community:
The Indian community in Peru is quite small, only around 150 families, mainly engaged in business and trade, while few are professionals. In addition, there are some Indian nationals with the Missionaries of Charity and other Christian organizations in Peru.

Humanitarian Assistance:
India made a cash donation of US$ 500,000 to Peru as humanitarian aid in connection with the earthquake in Peru on 15 August, 2007.