The free trade deal with the United States, which was signed on Wednesday, is "favorable" to Peru, said President Alejandro Toledo on Wednesday.

Toledo said in a statement to the nation that the close of the trade negotiations was "great news."

"This is great news, but also a great challenge," Toledo said. "It is great news because we have just finished technical negotiations that are favorable to Peru."

The Peruvian government said the new deal could generate nearly 6 million jobs in Peru during the next 10 years and boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.5 percent.

The most difficult part of technical discussions were those around agricultural products and intellectual property.

Peru started the talks with the United States from the beginning of the year, together with its two neighbors Colombia and Ecuador. All the three countries are from the Andean Community of Nations.

Colombia and Ecuador pulled out of the talks last month, but planned to resume negotiations some time next year.

The deal remains to be ratified by the Peruvian parliament.

Source: Xinhua