Andean Community Presidency Passes to Peru for 2026–2027 at a Handover in Quito
LATIN AMERICA · PERU
Key Facts
- —The country Peru, one of four members of the Andean Community (CAN), a trade and integration bloc it shares with Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. The bloc’s General Secretariat sits in Lima.
- —What happened On Wednesday 30 September 2026, Ecuador handed Peru the rotating one-year presidency for 2026–2027 at a ministers’ meeting in Quito, Andina and Prensa Latina reported.
- —Who is involved Peru’s foreign minister Carlos Espá and trade minister Rogers Valencia, Ecuador’s foreign minister Roberto Kury, and CAN Secretary General Gonzalo Gutiérrez.
- —What it means for you Ministers backed work on an Andean “single sky” for direct flights between member cities, and new rules for tourists driving private vehicles across borders. No timetable was given.
- —Still open Whether a leaders’ summit follows. Trade inside the bloc stays small: US$9.84 billion in 2025, 5.3 percent of members’ exports (CAN Secretariat).
Peru has taken over the Andean Community presidency for 2026–2027, receiving it from Ecuador at a ministers’ meeting in Quito on Wednesday 30 September. The Andean Community (CAN) groups Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
Foreign minister Carlos Espá said Peru would put regional security, disaster risk and border integration first. The handover comes after a year in which two members fought a tariff war inside the bloc.
A Rotating Chair Changes Hands in Quito
The Andean Community presidency, formally a pro tempore post, rotates among members each year and sets the working agenda. Ecuador held it from September 2025 to September 2026, according to Prensa Latina.
The transfer took place during a joint session of the bloc’s foreign ministers and its trade commission. Delegations from Bolivia and Colombia attended, as did Secretary General Gonzalo Gutiérrez, Prensa Latina reported.
Ecuador’s foreign minister Roberto Kury reported 13 operational measures and 96 concrete actions against organised crime during his country’s year. Targets included arms trafficking, illegal mining, people smuggling and money laundering.
Peru’s Plan: Security, Disasters and Borders
Espá named three priorities: security against transnational threats, disaster risk and environmental work, and Andean citizenship with border integration, state news agency Andina reported. Digital transformation, innovation and culture come next.
Peru also wants to convene the Andean Presidential Council, the bloc’s summit of heads of state. Trade and tourism minister Rogers Valencia called this “the moment to take decisions” for the region.
Flights, Ports and Tourist Drivers
The bloc’s trade commission approved new rules for tourists bringing private vehicles across borders, now also covering cars that tow small boats or motorbikes. It also adopted a community statistics programme for 2026–2030, Andina reported.
Ministers instructed officials to work towards a single Andean sky and a regional coastal shipping regime. Gutiérrez said the first aims at direct flights, such as Guayaquil to Cusco without changing planes in Lima.
He added that the plan needs common rules on passenger data and security standards. That makes it a long project rather than a quick change for travellers.
A Bloc That Trades Mostly With Others
Members exported US$187.46 billion to the world in 2025, up 11.5 percent, according to the CAN General Secretariat. Peru alone sold US$90.47 billion, 48.3 percent of the total, as The Rio Times reported in September.
Exports between members were far smaller: US$9.84 billion, up 8.0 percent on 2024. That is about 5 percent of the bloc’s sales, which is the gap Peru’s connectivity plans try to narrow.
The bloc’s own rules were tested this year, when Ecuador and Colombia raised tariffs on each other. That dispute ended after 124 days in June.
What Is Not Yet Known
Andina wrote that Peru also prepared for President Keiko Fujimori and Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa to formalise the handover. No date for that step, or for a presidential summit, has been published.
Peru’s full 2026–2027 work plan has not been released. No target dates were given for the single sky or the shipping regime.
Sources: Andina, 30 September 2026; Andina, 1 October 2026; Prensa Latina, 30 September 2026; Andean Community General Secretariat, intra- and extra-community exports 2025.
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