Chancellor Ribera holds videoconference with 25 countries as part of the Strip and Route Initiative

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Ribera, participated in the high-level videoconference convened by the Chancellor of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, to promote greater cooperation in the fight against the Covid-19 and foster economic recovery among the cooperation partners of the Strip and Route Initiative, of which Chile has been a member since May 2017.

The meeting was attended by the top representatives of the United Nations Development Program, Achim Steiner, and the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as well as senior authorities from 24 other countries.

At the meeting, Chancellor Ribera stressed the importance of multidimensional international cooperation to overcome the economic crisis of the coronavirus. "In the current international context, the commitment of all countries to support an open, non-discriminatory trading system based on transparent rules is especially important. These are fundamental conditions for a successful recovery from this global economic crisis," he said.

In addition, the Secretary of State urged the countries present "to work together at this critical time and refrain from introducing measures that restrict trade and may constitute unnecessary obstacles to it. He also encouraged them "to guarantee trade flows in order to achieve a successful and speedy economic and trade recovery, which are essential conditions to ensure the livelihood of our citizens.

He also called for greater international cooperation and coordination to build consensus to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030.

Minister Ribera also noted that Chile and China signed a joint declaration last April in the framework of the FTA to strengthen cooperation and combat Covid-19, which recognizes the importance of supporting the free flow of goods and services, connectivity and keeping supply chains open to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Finally, he recalled that Chile is promoting the international community to make progress in the development of a global instrument of international commitments in order to achieve the objective of coordinating efforts and partnerships in the areas of prevention, preparedness and multidimensional response to the pandemic.