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17:10 GMT
WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- Secretary of State John Kerry and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala met on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference in Peru on Thursday and affirmed their strong partnership and range of projects the two countries work on.
"The range of things that we work on together is also very critical: 230 Peace Corps volunteers in Peru support projects related to youth development, entrepreneurship and health to some of the most vulnerable parts of the country," said Kerry.
"Economically, our bilateral trade has doubled since we began to implement the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement five years ago.
"Peru and the United States is really about shared values that have come to define both of our nations: democracy, security, respect for human rights, opportunity for all citizens," he added.
For his part, Humala said: "We have also talked about improving our mechanisms at an administrative and bureaucratic level for foreign trade so that we can benefit U.S. citizens and Peruvian citizens alike thanks to the exchange of our products."
Humala also expressed gratitude to Kerry's commitments to climate change and education.
He expressed hope for turning Peru into a bilingual country by 2021, adding: "We will prioritize English."
The two leaders thanked each other for their time and hope to meet again soon. (end)
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