Chile and France reinforce ocean cooperation: President Macron officially supports Valparaíso as BBNJ Secretariat

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, participated in a visit to the icebreaker Almirante Viel in Valparaíso, where the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric Font, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, made a commitment to strengthen the bilateral relationship in the oceanic topics, promoting its protection and preservation.

The authorities made a tour of the icebreaker, a new vessel destined for scientific expeditions in Antarctica. In this context, President Macron expressed France's support for Valparaiso to host the headquarters of the secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ), a fundamental initiative for the conservation of the world's marine biodiversity. 

In addition, Chile and France will strengthen their collaboration on issues such as expanding scientific knowledge about the ocean; advancing the protection of the ocean and its biodiversity through multilateral initiatives that reinforce global governance of this subject. 

They will also work to combat illegal fishing, a practice that represents a serious threat to marine ecosystems. They also declared to make the ocean a vector for the decarbonization of the economy. In other words, they will seek to promote the development of alternative fuels and energy, with zero emissions, to reduce the environmental impact generated by ships in maritime transport. Finally, the countries will collaborate to provide greater guarantees of safety on the high seas. 

Visit to the National Congress

The Foreign Affairs Minister also attended a special session in the Hall of Honor of the National Congress, held by both chambers, which was attended by President Macron, who made a speech in which he highlighted the link between the two countries.