Peru to restore Inca village by trading debt with France

Peru won back France’s support to restore an ancient Inca village in Choquequirao, an isolated archeological compound at over 3,000 meters high in the southern Andes.

In a symbolic gesture, Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo and French ambassador to Peru Jean Paul Angelier, set the refurbishment works in motion with the funds coming from a rescheduling of Peru’s foreign debt with Paris for 5 million euros ($5.7 million).

The Peruvian government is bent on giving tourism a big leg up and drawing in foreign investment by opening an old-timed Inca village that local authorities proudly compare to world-class Machu Picchu.

Mr. Toledo and ambassador Angelier visited Choquequirao with high-ranking officials and a group of reporters in tow.