Address: 390 OrchardRoad
#12-03 Palais Renaissance Singapore 238871
Tel: 6738 8595 Fax: 6738 8601 Email: peru@embassyperu.org.sg and jgarcia@embassyperu.org.sg
National Day: Proclamation of Independence 28 Jul
2019 Embassy Activities Round-Up
Peru-Singapore: Working Towards 40 Years of Mutual Gains and Interests
Year 2019 was a very dynamic and rewarding one for the Embassy of Peru in Singapore. At official levels, the Ambassador of Peru had meetings with the Minister of Finance, Mr. Heng Swee Keat (pictured left); Minister of Culture, Ms Grace Fu (pictured leftmost); Home Minister, Mr. K Shanmugam; Minister of Education, Ong Ye Kung; and, Minister of Nationa
l Development, Mr. Lawrence Wong to deal with issues of common interest and explore ways and means of reinforcing bilateral cooperation in diverse topics such as trade and finance, cultural exchanges, the fight against transnational crime; training for teachers and new technologies for education; and smart cities and urban planning. In the same way, the Ambassador of Peru had a meeting along the same lines with the Speaker of Parliament. The Embassy highlighted each month with various commercial and cultural events:
January: The Embassy of Peru collaborated with the Nami Restaurant of Shangri-La Hotel to introduce to the Singaporean palate Nikkei food – a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese cuisines. The Chef from the renowned Nikkei Peruvian restaurant ‘Osaka’ in Peru was flown in to Singapore to host the seven-day event. The award-winning Peruvian film The Milk of Sorrow was presented jointly by the Embassy and the Spanish Program Centre of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Awarding this year’s Tumi de Plata award to NAFA graduate
February: Photographic exhibition, on the life and writings of the celebrated 16th Century Peruvian chronicler of the Inca Empire and Spanish conquest – Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. It was co-organized by the Embassy and Yale NUS College. The Embassy replicated the same exhibition at the Substation Gallery in April.
May: The World Opportunities Forum was organized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sun Media which publishes titles for the diplomatic community. The Ambassador participated as one of the panelists, among other Ambassadors accredited to Singapore. He presented business opportunities in Peru to potential investors.
June: The Central Narcotics Bureau of Singapore invited representatives from the Peruvian organisation in charge of formulating policies to combat and prevent drug trafficking (DEVIDA), and, the Peruvian Home Ministry, to participate in a study visit to Singapore to garner first-hand information on policies designed and applied by Singaporean authorities to combat drug trafficking and consumption.
On the business side, several Peruvian agribusiness companies participated in a roadshow with Singaporean companies interested in importing mainly fruits and vegetables from Peru. The Peruvian economy is going through a boom in terms of agricultural goods exports and is becoming the second exporter of avocados and blueberries in the world. Singapore is interested in promoting the establishment of Peruvian companies here to take advantage of its position as a regional logistics hub for the redistribution of Peruvian agricultural products.
July: Six Peruvian companies participated in the Fine Food Fair which took place in Suntec Convention Centre offering Peruvian products that are considered ‘super foods’ with promising prospects in the Asian market such as quinoa, cocoa, avocado, blueberries and others.
Peruvian musical group Apu InKa helped in the 198th Anniversary celebration of the Independence
of Peru with performances of the country’s music and dances
Furthermore, a videoconference between representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources of Singapore and their counterparts at the Peruvian Ministries of Environment and Housing, Construction and Sanitation, along with representatives of the Peruvian National Water Authority was organized to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation on issues such as carbon taxes, water tariffs and sustainable management of water resources, including recycled water, desalination plants and public private associations to develop water infrastructure.
There were also two cultural events that prepared the way for the 198th Anniversary celebration of the Independence of Peru by engaging a Peruvian musical group Apu InKa, a prestigious Peruvian band which plays and dances folkloric compositions from the three regions of Peru.
August: The Embassies of Chile and Peru hosted a promotional event organized by Chan Brothers a Singaporean tour operator, Quimbaya Tours and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. This event catered for an exclusive crowd, included a ceviche preparation workshop conducted by the Chef of the Peruvian Embassy and a Chilean wine tasting sponsored by the company “Concha y Toro”.
Peruvian Ambassador Carlos Vasquez on the mic presenting Peru at Singapore’s Fintech Festival
September: The Embassy played a part at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Convocation Ceremony. Each year, since 2006, the Embassy has traditionally conferred the Embassy of Peru Award – ‘The Tumi de Plata’ to the most outstanding Degree Graduate of NAFA. This year it was awarded to Mr. David Zechariah Kwek, Bachelor of Music. On the cultural side, the second edition of the ‘Flavours of Peru’ food festival took place at the Mandarin Orchard Hotel on September 6 -15. It was organized by the Embassy with the collaboration of the Peruvian Trade Office in Jakarta. The Peruvian Chef Jaime Arbulú and national musician Manuel Granados contributed to its success, attracting more than 1,200 people.
October: The office of the Defence Attaché of the Embassy hosted the celebration of the Peruvian Armed Forces and Peruvian Navy Day at the Mandarin Orchard Hotel. The event brought together the country Defence Attachés assigned to Singapore from all over the world, and some members of the Peruvian community and guests. The Director of the Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre was the Guest of Honour.
The Embassy joined the ITB Fair for Tour Operators with the participation of two prominent Peruvian companies Condor Travel and Jaguar Aventura at The Expo and Convention Centre of Marina Bay Sands on October 16-18.
In the field of Education, the Embassy conferred its second annual Embassy of Peru Award. On October 18, the Embassy of Peru Award -The Varayoc- was awarded to Mr. Xi Wen Han, a student at the Raffles Institution during the Institution’s Farewell Assembly 2019. The Varayoc award is a tradition in Peru from the Andean Mountain region. It is conferred on individauls to mark the symbol of leadership, responsibility and honesty.
The Embassy and Peruvian multinational companies; Aje Group and Industrias San Miguel participated in a boot camp organized by the Economic Development Board of Singapore and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce to show Latin American companies the benefits of establishing and doing business in Singapore and how the country is a gateway for doing business in the Asian region.
On October 21, in an event organized by the Latin America Chamber of Commerce the Ambassador of Peru was one of the panellists to discuss with the prestigious author Parag Khanna about his last book The Future is Asian” and the impact of the growing political and economic influence of Asia on the Latin American region
November: The Ambassador gave a presentation on the promotion of Fintech business in Peru within the framework of the Singapore Fintech Festival 2019 and the Week of Innovation and Technology in Singapore (SWITCH). The four-member countries of the Pacific Alliance group; the Embassies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru along with their respective trade promotion agencies and the support of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce organised this event. Four Peruvian companies involved in the Fintech sector particapated in this important event.
The Embassy of Peru is currently consolidating a programme of diplomatic, economic and cultural events to celebrate 40th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Peru and Singapore.
