President Piñera concludes international tour and highlights G20 commitment to free trade and combating climate change
During his active participation in the summit of world leaders in Osaka, the President of Chile invited various leaders to APEC 2019 and COP25, which will be hosted by Chile in November and December of this year.
On Saturday, President Sebastián Piñera spoke about his participation in the G20 summit, where he stressed that one of the major issues addressed was recovering free trade, collaboration and putting an end to the tariff and trade war.
With regard to this point the President declared that important progress had been made, and that the G20 declaration reflects a commitment to defending and promoting free trade.
A second theme of the summit was climate change and global warming, where President Piñera said that there were high hopes for the outcomes to be achieved in the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25), which will take place in Chile this December.
"There is a strong commitment because COP 25 in Chile can take a step forward. The Paris Agreement is not being met and by itself is insufficient, and that is why it is essential to establish goals that are much more ambitious and enforceable in order to prevent global warming and climate change from becoming a tragedy for humanity," said the President.
Finally, the President said that the next APEC summit, which will also take place in Chile, is an opportunity to try and take a big step forward in dealing with issues related to world trade.
In the last activity of his tour, the President visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, accompanied by First Lady Cecilia Morel and a parliamentary delegation.
The President of Chile laid a wreath in remembrance of all the civilians who perished when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city on August 6, 1945.
"We have to ensure that never again in the history of the human race shall we suffer the consequences of atomic bombs," he said.
He added that he is proud that Latin America is an area free from nuclear weapons and hopes that one day the whole world will be likewise.
During the visit, the President also met with the mayor of the city of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, who is the son of a survivor of the nuclear attack.
Thus President Piñera concluded a successful tour that began with visits to Israel and Palestine, where he held meetings with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In the meeting with the President of Israel, the two heads of state discussed scientific and technological cooperation, along with fostering agreements to develop the improved use of water resources in Chile. Eight agreements were signed to promote scientific cooperation, agriculture, healthcare, safety, cybersecurity, air services, the energy sector and water resources and wastewater management.
Meanwhile, agreements relating to healthcare, education, culture and cooperation were signed with the President of the State of Palestine. President Piñera called for peace in the region and reiterated that Chile is in favor of the existence of two free, sovereign and independent states with recognized and secure borders.
The President of Chile then headed to the city of Osaka in Japan, to take part in the summit of G20 leaders for the second consecutive year. G20 is the main international forum for economic, financial and political cooperation. In addition to addressing the leaders of the main economies of the world, President Piñera met with the heads of state of Vietnam, India, Germany, Argentina, Canada, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, among other countries.