Foreign Affairs Minister participates in seminar to commemorate 20 years of the FTA between Chile and the United States
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, participated today in a seminar organized by the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations and ProChile to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the United States.
The event, entitled "20 years after the Chile-US FTA: Reflection on the trajectory, impact and opportunities of the Agreement", was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors, academia and civil society, who shared reflections, lessons learned, experiences and results compiled over the last 20 years since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Chile and the United States.
The seminar was closed by Minister van Klaveren. During his speech, the Minister recalled that when he joined the Foreign Ministry as an advisor in 1990, the first job he was entrusted with was to analyze the viability of a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which at the time, when Chile was returning to democracy, "was seen as a very relevant agreement, not only from the point of view of the country's international insertion into the future, but also from the point of view of what it represented as a sign of the economic policy that the new democratic government was undertaking".
The Minister added that the FTA with the United States, together with other instruments signed, such as the agreement to avoid double taxation, approved in June by the U.S. Senate; or the recent bilateral implementation agreement for the Prevention and Combating of Serious Crimes, a key step for Chile to remain in the Visa Waiver Program; represent a very relevant potential in strengthening the ties between both countries.
"These are milestones in our relationship with the United States, a relationship that continues to develop, that continues to be projected, and in which there are many elements of coincidence, both in the economic field, as well as in the political field," he said. "It is a pleasure to be able to close this activity, and to highlight the importance that the relationship with the United States has for us and how much we appreciate the goodwill to continue strengthening our bilateral relationship," he concluded.
The seminar was inaugurated by the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza. It was also attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Chile, Bernadette Meehan, and the Chilean Ambassador to the United States, Juan Gabriel Valdés, among other authorities.
