29 DE JUNIO DE 2017

[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet highlights agreement for the “Agua Negra Pass International Tunnel” project

This afternoon in the Las Camelias Patio of La Moneda Palace, the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet headed the signing ceremony of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Argentina and the Binational Argentine-Chilean entity for the “Agua Negra Pass International Tunnel” project, along with Argentine President, Mauricio Macri, who is making an official visit to Chile.

In a joint statement, President Bachelet said “both our past and present clearly reflect our joint work, the shared projects designed to build effective bilateral and regional integration in order to provide opportunities for the development and growth for our peoples”. She referenced the binational meeting held this year in honor of the bicentennial of the Battle of Chacabuco.

“As I mentioned when we launched the extension works for the Los Libertadores Complex, which is the main international pass that links us with Argentina, the imposing Andes mountain range, rather than separating us, has brought us together under a common destiny. And in order to advance in this common destiny of progress and development, we are permanently working on concrete initiatives that benefit both our countries”, President Bachelet said.

Furthermore, during their meeting, the two Presidents discussed a range of topics, including the environment, infrastructure and trade. President Bachelet highlighted the “concrete achievements” that have been made in physical integration and border facilitation.

“Specific progress has been made by the Binational Entities on the Agua Negra and Las Leñas tunnels, which are at different stages of development and making decisive steps towards completion. Likewise, both governments have explored mechanisms for the optimization of border traffic”, she said.
President Bachelet added that Chile and Argentina are working on an agreement to liberalize trade that will strengthen and revitalize economic links and continue to promote investment in order to stimulate the value chains of both nations.

“In this context, we want to promote initiatives that allow us to move towards the convergence of the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur, the main regional economic forums”, President Bachelet stated.

In terms of the environment, she highlighted the joint work launched on matters regarding the conservation of southern maritime spaces and the project to create Binational Parks for the protection of the natural assets shared on both sides of the border.

“Our political and strategic convergences have led us to focus the future of our binational relations through the Chile-Argentine Strategic Dialogue Forum, that seeks to outline our relationship to 2030 in order to be able to respond effectively to the challenges that emerge daily on the global stage”, she said.

In conclusion, President Bachelet said “in this framework, we have signed today a Joint Statement with President Macri, in which we have set down relevant aspects of our bilateral relationship as well as our shared vision of the regional context, which will allow us to continue strengthening the solid friendship between Chile and Argentina.”