Marco Rubio delivers remarks at American Chamber of Commerce of Peru

opportunities for us. So, I wanted to. share. what I have been saying since I came. here. For me, uh I think not for me, but. for everyone, the main role of any. government is security and stability. It's the most important, right? Without. security, you cannot accomplish. anything. And unfortunately, not only in. Peru, but in the region, it's. confronting a very uh extraordinary. threats. Usually, the threats will be will were. taking place within national groups.

What has changed in the world, what has. changed in the region, is that these. groups are now transnational, operating. from Colombia against Peru, operating in. Peru against Bolivia, operating in. Bolivia against Ecuador. So, a huge. threat. And the only way of dealing with. this or confronting these groups, uh if. we don't confront them and defeat them, they will eat the country. This is very. Cuban. I don't know how you translate. it, but yeah. They will. they will just impact the society, and.

who will suffer the most? The working. class, of course. They are being. blackmailed, extortion. They are paying. the price. But, um. not only because of the sovereignty of a. country, if your territory is controlled. by criminal groups, by terrorist groups, how can you be protecting? And I'm happy. to that you have an administration with. President Fujimori that is committed to.

confront these delinquents, these. criminals, and we will provide the. support that she needs. This is not just. simply to to to help Peru and help her. It is also to help ourselves, because. these terrorist groups are a threat to. Peru, but they're also a threat to the. United States and to the North American. people. Without security, you don't have. prosperity. Obviously, there are a lot. of things that we need to do for. prosperity. There are companies that don't like to. invest in a country where, you know, you.

don't feel safe. But, also you need to. have security legally. Due process a due the due process. This. is how you attract foreign investment. This is what we want to see. It's logic. that the United States and Peru have. relations and very strong bonds. And very close in terms of trade. And. for us that is a priority as well. It is. possible to work on security and at the. same time work on trade, of course. And these are related.

And it is a priority for this. administration, a priority for President. Trump. He's a businessman. He's not a. political man. He he he started yeah politics 10 years. ago, but clearly he's not political. He's a businessman and this is. what he understands and he appreciates. And we want to see more trade activity. between Peru and the US. And there are. great opportunities in order to do so. I'd like to tell you that what do we. give you are two things. Number one, unfortunately,

well, political instability in Peru. Uh as a secretary, I think we have had. to deal with three different. administrations in a year and a half. And. and it's impressive cuz usually you have. two presidents in 10 years. But, now we. have stability and I think that is. important. But, also. there has been some negligence from the. government from both political parties. in the US that have said, "No, he Yeah, the hemisphere is South America." Um. everything is important and the. Americans are important for us. They all.

said this, but do do something about it. And we are doing something about this. For us it is a priority. Why? Why is it a priority? Well, first. because of geography. It's logic that we. are going to have trade exchanges. I'd. rather have these exchanges with. countries that are close to our country.

Obviously, we're going to have. relations, but it is obvious that we. will have these type of exchanges where. we have so close where we are so close. geographically. Number two is logic. because the reality is one of the things. that is impacting. uh manufacturing, um access to critical minerals, access. to all of these elements. It's easy to. have a source of these minerals. that it is on the same hemisphere.

instead of bringing this from Africa. This doesn't mean that we're not. interested on Africa or Asia, but the. logic thing to do is to have access to. these minerals to production and the. production capability of countries that. are close to our nation. Logistically. speaking is easier. Number two, this is. not a region that has, you know, a war. You're fighting a war against criminals, but we you don't have global conflicts. like other countries in the world.

Three, cuz our system and cultures are. very similar. We have already. connections at a banking level, at a. transaction level, at a social level, and logically because. it supports the countries around the. region to develop economically, and this. is part of the interest of the United. States. So, if we have economic issues, if we. have political issues, if we have social. issues, unfortunately, um and and insecurity, this has a direct. impact on the United States, and we have.

seen this, right? If you study the. situation in Mexico, that nowadays, tragically, there is. territory in Mexico controlled by. cartel. They are the government. But it also has an impact on the border. with the US and threatens the US. directly. So, for us, if there are. problems at the hemisphere, this becomes. our problem as well. So, for all of. these reasons, is logic and I know that. you have representatives of many. companies that for many years you have.

investing in the Peruvian economy and. have an American representation. We. don't only want you to continue doing. this, but we want you to do more. We are. coordinating very closely through the. ambassador, through the embassy with the. government and any administration to. make sure that any barrier that exists. in the Peruvian system, that this has to. be clear, so it makes your job easier. and it of course it's part of our jobs. to do more. to be able to have more opportunities.

for the American companies in terms of. the opportunity of trade and investment. We need to also play that role to. support and form through our economic. bureaus to US companies that are seeking. to invest around the world and may most. likely they are not aware of Peru. because we were not focused on this side. of the hemisphere. This is why it's. important to be here today to thank you. for all the things that you have been. doing for many years. You're here. because you have been working for many. years. We want you to be able to do more.

and we want you to have new markets, new. partners and new tools available and. please be aware that you are a priority. for us, for the Department of State and. from our embassy to develop all these. things. I think that will help Peru. Without a. doubt, it'll help the United States, it'll help you and it'll help the entire. hemisphere. So, for me, it's been a very. productive visit. I just come from the. presidential palace when we had a. meeting with the president and then we. had a press conference that went very.

well and I hope to come back. at least once more before the akekat. burning of Peru from here. I'm joking. But yeah, well, God willing, we will be. able to come. And we will have more things to discuss. But, the the the last Well, the the the. last 40 days for the administration we. they requested many things that we have. agreed to cooperate in many topics and. we have complied. And we are in.

in a good start. We need to continue. We. need to follow up on this. And we need. to provide continuity. We have burning. about here focus 100% his working every. day, but he's also has a direct. connection with me and the White House. That in a world that is experiencing so. many things with Iran, with the Ukraine, with Russia, with all the things that. are taking place, it is important to. know that you have in the US system. people in high positions that are.

focusing in this side of hemisphere, but. specifically in the relation with Peru. that for many. Well, for the 10 years was like kind of. put aside. I don't want to say abandoned. This will. change. And I like to thank you for. being patient with us and be and and and. keep being steady firm because we're. starting a new era. And I think it'll be the best era in the. relation between both our countries. Thank you very much.