President Piñera presents the new International Economic Relations Undersecretary: “We need to expand and strengthen the network of trade alliances”
The new undersecretary’s office will coordinate Chile’s trade agenda, consolidating decades of export expansion and promotion efforts, which have resulted in foreign trade accounting for 57% of Chile’s GDP.
President Sebastián Piñera presented the new International Economic Relations Undersecretary this Monday. This new entity will seek to maximize Chile’s economic openness to the world.
Overseen by Undersecretary Rodrigo Yáñez, the new entity replaces the Directorate General of International Economic Affairs (DIRECON).
"We need to strengthen and enhance the structure and network of the trade partnerships that Chile has woven over the years and which have granted us privileged access to the markets of more than 64 countries that together account for 85% of global GDP," said the President, accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Teodoro Ribera.
Part of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Undersecretary's office will provide immediate collaboration on matters of international economic relations and coordinating actions with all other state entities. It will also propose and supervise the design, negotiation, monitoring, implementation and evaluation of economic treaties.
The role of this organization will be to consolidate decades of export expansion and promotion, which have resulted in 57% of Chile's GDP now being based on foreign trade.
The Economic Relations Undersecretary’s office represents an opportunity to meet the challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution and new global trade issues.
“We have to face the new realities, opportunities and challenges of this technological revolution, this digital society, this knowledge and information society,” noted the President.
Chile’s Export Promotion Bureau (Prochile) also forms part of this new entity.