US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld starts official visit to Peru
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Peru on Wednesday at the start of an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking.

Rumsfeld was met at the airport in Lima by his Peruvian counterpart Marciano Rengifo.

Rumsfeld will meet Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo on Thursday for talks on the war against terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as on cooperation programs and humanitarian assistance.

He would also hold talks with Rengifo on Thursday. The United States has shown interest in carrying out military cooperation with Peru, including providing military aid. However, Peru has not agreed to exempt US military personnel from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which is a precondition for receiving US military aid under a new US law.

Peru is the second largest cocaine producer in the world. It received 116.3 million US dollars in US aid in fiscal 2005 starting last October to fight narcotics and wants more. However, the US government has proposed to cut 97 million US dollars for next year.

"One of the things we have to discuss with Rumsfeld is having bigger support in the whole area of defense against drugs trafficking," said Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who was appointed on Tuesday by Toledo after the abrupt resignation of the former prime minister.

Rumsfeld arrived from Paraguay, part of his third Latin American tour in 10 months.