Presidents Boric and Castillo head the Chile-Peru Binational Cabinet meeting to promote political and diplomatic dialogue
Ministers from both countries’ foreign affairs and other ministries participated in the meeting, which has been held for the fourth time. They signed a series of agreements in various different areas.
The IV Chile-Peru Binational Cabinet meeting of ministers got underway at La Moneda Palace, attended by the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, and the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric. The cabinet meeting is the main opportunity for political and diplomatic dialogue between the two countries.
The event had been held in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but was interrupted by the pandemic. It aims to facilitate coordination and decision-making at the highest level on the main issues of the shared agenda, as well as to find new spaces for cooperation to benefit both countries.
Today began with the VII Meeting of the Standing Committee for Political Consultation and Coordination between Chile and Peru, known as 2+2, in which both countries’ foreign affairs ministers and defense ministers met to strengthen and deepen mutual trust in the areas of security and defense.
During the morning, other ministers from Chile and Peru also held bilateral meetings. President Pedro Castillo and his ministers then visited the Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins Monument to lay a wreath.
The presidents subsequently held a bilateral meeting at La Moneda Palace, accompanied by their respective foreign affairs ministers and ambassadors. This was followed by a meeting of the Chile-Peru Business Council, headed by the presidents and economy ministers of each country.
The presidents signed a joint declaration at the end of the meeting, and participating ministers also signed a series of agreements.
“We are sister nations, and I believe that today it is up to us to honor history by working together. I thank the teams that have been working on and supporting an agenda of unity and responsibility. We need to give continuity to the agreements reached, in order to respond to our common enemies, to these historical social cleavages, such as poverty and wide inequalities,” President Castillo stated.
President Boric explained that the Binational Cabinet seeks “to facilitate coordination and decision-making at the highest level on the main issues of the shared agenda, as well as to find new spaces for cooperation to benefit both countries.”
He added, “yesterday and today, following several months of talks, we agreed on a new plan of action, called Plan Santiago, in which the negotiating teams established numerous commitments.”
These commitments focus on five key areas:
- Environment, sustainable development, energy and mining.
- Foreign trade, investment, tourism and cooperation in science and technology
- Development, border integration and infrastructure
- Social affairs and culture for integration
- Security and defense