Peru assumed the Andean Community’s rotating presidency for 2026–2027 at a ministers’ meeting in Quito on Wednesday, September 30, taking over from Ecuador and gaining responsibility for setting the bloc’s working agenda. This change doesn’t transfer national sovereignty: the presidency rotates among members each year, while the bloc’s members and officials pursue regional rules and coordination across borders.
The Andean Community, also known as CAN, comprises Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. The handover took place during a joint session of foreign ministers and the trade commission. Delegations from Bolivia and Colombia attended, along with Secretary General Gonzalo Gutiérrez. Ecuador held the presidency from September 2025 to September 2026.
Who Sets the Agenda
Foreign minister Carlos Espá identified Peru’s priorities as security against transnational threats, disaster risk and environmental work, and Andean citizenship with border integration. Digital transformation, innovation and culture also made the list, state news agency Andina reported. Peru gets a role in determining the bloc’s work, but its full 2026–2027 plan hasn’t been released.
Peru also wanted to convene the Andean Presidential Council, the bloc’s summit of heads of state. Trade and tourism minister Rogers Valencia said, “the moment to take decisions” had arrived. Andina reported that Peru had prepared for President Keiko Fujimori and Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa to formalize the handover, but it gave no date for that step or for a presidential summit.
The meeting also advanced proposals requiring members to coordinate rules. Ministers instructed officials to work toward a single Andean sky and a regional coastal shipping regime. Gutiérrez said the single-sky proposal aimed to enable direct flights, including Guayaquil to Cusco without a change of planes in Lima. Common rules on passenger data and security standards would be necessary, he said. This remains a long-term project, not an immediate change for travelers. No target date was given.
Cross-Border Rules and Trade
The trade commission approved rules for tourists taking private vehicles across borders. The coverage now extends to cars towing small boats or motorbikes. The commission also adopted a community statistics program for 2026–2030. These decisions place travel rules and shared data work within the bloc’s regional framework; the source identifies no demographic effect and reports no public opposition to the measures.
The CAN General Secretariat reported that members exported US$187.46 billion to the world in 2025, an increase of 11.5%. Peru accounted for US$90.47 billion, or 48.3% of the total. Exports between member countries reached US$9.84 billion, up 8.0% from 2024 and about 5% of the bloc’s total sales.
Ecuador and Colombia raised tariffs on each other during the year. That dispute ended after 124 days in June 2026. Ecuador’s foreign minister Roberto Kury reported that Ecuador’s presidency produced 13 operational measures and 96 concrete actions against organized crime, targeting arms trafficking, illegal mining, people smuggling and money laundering.
The supplied report describes decisions by ministers, commissions and the General Secretariat, but identifies no popular resistance, organized dissent or specific institutional beneficiaries. It provides no population figures to measure demographic change. Peru’s full work plan remains unpublished, and the proposed aviation and shipping regimes have no announced target dates.