Text and photos: Juan David Latorre.
The Chilean Embassy celebrated the 215th anniversary of the Republic’s Independence last Wednesday, in conjunction with the Day of the Glories of the Army, at the residence of Ambassador Javier Velasco.
“There is one homeland. And we embody it day by day in our foreign policy, with our daily actions, with our work. Our homeland is a reliable multilateral ally in the face of global challenges, a strategic destination for cooperation and investment, and a benchmark of global stability. And when we are far from our homeland, we see more clearly that our differences enrich us and that, beyond them, we are all of one heart. A heart that beats today in this celebration, thanks to those who have made it possible,” with these words the Chilean ambassador began his speech.
Javier Velasco wanted to recognize the efforts of the Fundación Chile-Spain, because “the truth is that we couldn’t do much of what we do alone, but you also demonstrate daily, in your daily work alongside us, that public-private collaboration is the key to the future and well-being of our nations. It is a foundational element of the well-being of the majority that we want to build.”
The ambassador gave the floor to the Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean, and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo, who emphasized that “the affection between the Spanish and Chilean people has been forged over centuries, and this has allowed us to establish a solid fraternal alliance. Despite being geographically distant, our countries, among which we are all proudly part of the Ibero-American community, are inversely proportional to our emotional closeness. We share values based on respect for democracy and human rights, and we work hand in hand to address the challenges we face in a world experiencing a very complex context. As a result of this good relationship, our presidents, Sánchez and Boric, renewed the 2013 Spain-Chile Strategic Agreement last year, and this July, President Sánchez participated in the important forum in defense of democracy, hosted by Chile.”
Susana Sumelzo reviewed recent Spanish-Chilean relations and emphasized that “last year I traveled to Santiago and Valparaíso to participate in the commemorative events, in the moving commemorative events of the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the ship Winnipeg in Valparaíso. And it was an honor to arrive in that city, in that port, and to reiterate Spain’s gratitude for the hospitality of the Chilean people who welcomed a generation of Spaniards who were forced into exile and who found in your country, in their country, that place in which to live in the freedom that was denied them here. Spain owes Chile a debt, a host country for so many Spaniards, and Spain also welcomed many Chileans later in the 1970s, who also experienced an onslaught of totalitarianism. On the trip I was able to make to Chile, we signed a memorandum of understanding for the international promotion of the Spanish language in the diplomatic sphere and in diplomatic relations. Our language, Spanish, it is perhaps the most common element of the brotherhood we share between the two countries. We are proud to enjoy Chilean thought and creation in our own language, and we consider the authors in our country, who have contributed such brilliant pages to the history of world literature, as our own.”
Following this, and on the occasion of the Day of the Glories of the Chilean Army, the Military Defense Attaché of the Chilean Embassy, Colonel Rodrigo Rojas Martínez, addressed the guests. He emphasized: “As a republican institution, the Chilean Army was born alongside the homeland and has been a protagonist and witness to its construction, collaborating from its beginning in the formation of the other branches of national defense and other fundamental state institutions.”
“Serving in the Army,” he continued, “goes beyond the daily contribution we make to national development and security in every corner of the country. It means being part of a profession linked to the past, present, and future of the country, where the men and women who embrace it assume a vocation of service marked by loyalty, honor, and patriotism. Without a doubt, the Army can only exist and endure over time thanks to the support, appreciation, and trust of its citizens.”
The Chilean Military Defense Attaché concluded his remarks by emphasizing that “I can tell you with certainty that the Chilean Army will continue to provide security, defense, and peace to the Nation, because its main strength lies in its more than 40,000 men and women. These are the members of the organization, who, through their dedication and commitment to the country, offer their full capabilities in service to Chile, projecting their strength across a large part of the national territory in Antarctica. To love Chile, it is not necessary to be a soldier, but one cannot be a soldier without deeply loving Chile.”
Ambassador Javier Velasco began his remarks by noting that “next year the host will most likely be someone else. It has been four years, well, almost four wonderful years, and I want to close by telling you a little about what this period has been like. Exactly 20 years ago, on September 17, 2005, at the Palacio de la Moneda, one of the most relevant statesmen in our contemporary history, President Ricardo Lago Escobar, affirmed at the signing ceremony of the constitutional reform to those of us who were children, to those of us who were young 20 years ago, that we were called to the task of perfecting our democracy, expanding our freedoms, raising the level of social justice, and making Chile an ever greater country.” It’s my responsibility to make a contribution in that direction.”
“In terms of trade,” the Chilean ambassador continued, “in 2024 alone, Chile will finally surpass $100 billion in exports, and Spain plays a very important role in that, as it is our third-largest investor nationally, immensely diversified, with tremendous cultural depth in the country, and also, during this period, it has become the third-largest importer of goods and services in the European Union. How could I not be proud to be part of that process? When we began this mission in 2022, our exports to Spain were $1.133 billion. Today, in 2024, this year alone they will reach $1.917 billion, a 59% increase. Our main exports continue to be mining and food, but our strength lies in important sectors such as green mining, the digital economy, and renewable energy. This also translates into a growing export of talent and increasingly sophisticated services, for example in the digital field.”
“In 2022, we began a program of diplomatic and trade visits to virtually all of Spain’s autonomous communities. We reached places no ambassador had ever visited before. Thanks to this, we have been able to open new public-private relations, sign agreements, and appoint honorary consuls in strategic territories such as the Basque Country.”
After detailing the important exchanges of political, business, and cultural visits between the two countries, the Chilean ambassador noted that, “without a doubt, the most notable were President Pedro Sánchez’s two visits to our country. I had the opportunity to accompany him on March 8, 2024, and on that occasion, a key day for our bilateral relations, some of the milestones I will mention in this brief closing, with two final details, were forged. During this time, we saw unprecedented encounters in the relationship between our nations. The first Chile Summit in Madrid, the largest attendance in the history of SOFOFA and the Spanish CPC, the 70th anniversary of the raising of the National Flag on the Training Ship Esmeralda in Cádiz, and, recently, the first Chile Day in Madrid, one of the most important milestones we’ve had and one that I’m sure will continue to be repeated. And we’ve signed nearly 20 bilateral instruments, where I highlight what is especially important for our mission, for the relationship between our Foreign Ministries and Embassies, and which the Secretariat of State already mentioned: the renewal of the Chile-Spain Strategic Alliance, a much earlier version signed in 2013 by former President Sebastián Piñera, whom we also honor at this event. We are capable of all of this and much more when we are together.”
