Following the announcement last week of a free trade deal between Japan and the European Union, Harold Forsyth, Peruvian Ambassador to Japan, vowed Wednesday to strengthen trade ties between Japan and Peru.

"The challenge will be to promote much more diverse and intense Japanese investment in Peru, (and the) role of the Japanese private sector in the country," Forsyth told The Japan Times during a courtesy visit to the newspaper's head office.

Forsyth, who assumed his new post in April, said he hopes to invite investment in the infrastructure sector.