Peru on Saturday offered cooperation with Japan in consultations to allow the major Asian economy into negotiations on a U.S.-led Pacific free trade pact, on which the current nine parties struck a framework accord earlier in the day.
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala extended his support for Japan's bid to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership when he met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Honolulu before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit, Japanese officials said.
Peru is among the nine Asia-Pacific countries currently engaged in the TPP negotiations, which aim to seal a final agreement possibly next year.
Noda conveyed to Humala Tokyo's policy of starting talks with the TPP members to win their approval for the nation's participation in the multilateral negotiations on the pact, the officials said.
In the summit talks, Humala called on Japan to ratify a bilateral free trade agreement with Peru at an early date, while Noda pledged efforts to obtain parliament's endorsement for the pact during the current extraordinary Diet session, they said.
The two countries signed the FTA in May, which will scrap tariffs on more than 99 percent of the value of goods traded between the two nations within 10 years.
The two leaders mutually extended invitations to visit each other's country, the officials added.