Country Profile

With an average growth rate of 5.9% over the past decade, Peru’s economy has consistently outperformed most regional neighbours. Politically, the country has recently emerged from a period of instability and security concerns to rank among the top investment destinations in the developing world. That said, corruption continues to be a concern, particularly in the wake of several recent scandals that shook the country’s traditional political establishment. Aggravating this problem, a divided Congress has failed to reach any bipartisan agreement to push through much-needed anti-corruption reforms. However, the emergence of Martín Vizcarra, who assumed the presidency after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s resignation in March 2018, offers new hope to investors and Peruvians alike. Although it is still too early to assess his leadership, President Vizcarra has already shown promising signs that his administration will make concerted efforts to combat corruption, rebuild business confidence, encourage investment and increase economic growth. This chapter contains interviews with President Martín Vizcarra Cornejo; Sebastián Piñera Echenique, President of Chile; Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for International Trade; and Juan Manuel Santos, Former President of Colombia; and Former President Pro Tempore, Pacific Alliance.