The newly-assigned Peruvian ambassador to ASEAN Roberto Seminario said on Tuesday that the country is interested at forging further cooperation with ASEAN as well as the Pacific Alliance with the Southeast Asia regional bloc, a statement sent by the ASEAN Secretariat to Xinhua said.

"In time of economic difficulties in some part of the world, Southeast Asia is the healthy place for business opportunity for the Latin American States like Peru and the Pacific Alliance for the next 30 to 50 years," Roberto Seminario said in his remarks on the occasion of presenting the Letter of Credence to ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh at the ASEAN Secretariat.

In the event Seminario also expressed his appreciation to ASEAN and its member states for the successful conductions of the ASEAN- Latin American Business Forum last year and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation Meeting this year, which provided interacting opportunities for business circles in both continents.

He stressed that both ASEAN and Latin American groupings could do more to reach out to all business communities and further foster cooperation for the benefit of people in both regions.

In his responding remarks Le Luong Minh congratulated Ambassador Seminario for assuming his post as Ambassador of Peru to ASEAN and expressed his hope that the ASEAN Secretariat as well as ASEAN would work closely with the Embassy of Peru to ASEAN to further enhance cooperation with Peru.