Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, concluded yesterday his South American tour in Chile, with whose president, Gabriel Boric, he signed a Renewed Strategic Alliance that includes new priorities compared to the previous one in 2013: gender equality and feminist diplomacy, sustainability environmental and safety.
Sánchez’s visit to Santiago began with the inauguration of the Spain-Chile Business Meeting, in which he highlighted the “synergy” in the economic and social priorities of two countries that “aspire to participate in a global paradigm shift with the objective that economic development is fairer and more equal between men and women.”
Among these priorities, the Chief Executive mentioned the commitment to renewable energies and the role of Spanish companies in sectors such as the energy transition and highlighted the commitment of the two countries to “inclusive and socially fair economic growth.” In this regard, Sánchez stated that the new Chile-EU Advanced Framework Agreement, signed in December 2023 under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, represents a milestone in trade relations between the two countries because, in addition to eliminating almost all tariffs, introduces shared advanced trade and sustainability commitments.
Spain is the fifth largest investor in the world in Chile, with over 16.5 billion euros of accumulated investment, concentrated especially in strategic sectors. Furthermore, the value of exports of Spanish goods reached 1,675 million euros in 2023, while that of exports of services increased by almost 40% in 2022, to exceed 1,200 million euros.
After this meeting, and after participating in a floral offering at the Monument to the Liberator General Bernardo O’Higgins, Pedro Sánchez was received at the La Moneda Palace by President Gabriel Boric.
This is the first visit by a President of the Spanish Government to this country since Boric’s arrival to the Presidency of the Republic. The President of the Government already visited Chile in 2018, during the mandate of the recently deceased Sebastián Piñera, and the visit will be a return of the one the Chilean president made to Spain in July of last year.
During their meeting, the two leaders signed a Joint Declaration in favor of gender equality and the empowerment of women, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. “Let us unite our voices for equality between men and women,” declared Sánchez after signing the Joint Declaration. The two countries, he continued, share the opinion that equality is “the backbone of democracy” and, therefore, they have committed to defending it in all international forums.
Likewise, Sánchez and Boric signed the Renewed Strategic Alliance, which updates and expands the 2013 one, since, to the collaboration in entrepreneurship, investments and innovation that appeared in it, other new priorities are added, such as gender equality and diplomacy. feminist, environmental sustainability or security.
The two leaders also attended the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on just ecological transition, democratic memory, Antarctic cooperation and cooperation in science and innovation. Sánchez’s day concluded with his participation in a commemorative event for International Women’s Day at the Amphitheater of the House of Culture in the commune of La Pintana, a vulnerable neighborhood of Greater Santiago.
