MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK biggest foreign investor in Peru, underlines Ambassador Harrisson

Ambassador Harrisson: “Those who are most affected by the lack of infrastructure are the poor.”

Britain's Ambassador to Peru Kate Harrisson Thursday highlighted that the United Kingdom is currently the biggest foreign investor in the Andean country, thanks to the sizeable mining projects currently under way.

 “In 2018 we had the announcement by our company Anglo American, of an investment of 5,300 million dollars, together with Mitsubishi, in the Quellaveco copper mine, and with it the United Kingdom, now, is the largest [foreign] investor in all of Peru,” the diplomat said.

“But it is not the only British company with an important presence in Peru, Rio Tinto has been leading the exploration phase of La Granja and a number of important companies, such as Glencore and BHP Billiton have shares in the Antamina company and are listed on the London Stock Exchange,“ she added.

Harrisson also stressed that the United Kingdom has collaborated with Peru in the success of the execution of the works for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, as well as in the preparation of the National Infrastructure Plan for Competitiveness.

”Infrastructure is a vital public asset and it allows the delivery of basic public services such as health and education,“ she said.

“Those who are most affected by the lack of infrastructure are the poor. Water, transport, schools and hospitals have the potential to make a real difference in individual well-being and the realisation of human beings,” she went on.

Harrisson noted that mining is one of the most powerful engines of socio-economic development in resource-rich countries such as Peru, representing more than 10% of GDP and 22% of foreign investments.

”With all the challenges of climate change, the world needs a sustainable approach to mining and the industry understands that it needs to continue evolving to meet the growing expectations of society and so that our increasingly fragile planet can survive,“ she explained.

”Responsible mining, as a development anchor, has the potential to be transformative for the communities and countries where projects are developed,” she concluded. (Source Agencia Andina)