Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell provided the following readout:
On May 5, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had a productive bilateral meeting at the Pentagon with Peru's Minister of Defense Walter Astudillo and Foreign Minister Elmer Schialer, to discuss U.S. national security interests and our countries' defense cooperation. Secretary Hegseth made clear that the Western Hemisphere is a top priority for the President and the Department of Defense. The Secretary praised Peru's commitment to enhance military interoperability with the United States. The discussion also included ways to further mutual defense priorities and regional security issues. Both the Secretary and the Ministers committed to increasing and building upon existing bilateral cooperation between our militaries.