The President of the Republic of Armenia, who was on an official visit to Latin America, started his official visit to Chile by leaving a wreath at the monument of the National Hero of Chile, General Bernardo O’Higgins which was followed by the meeting with President Michelle Bachelet, at La Moneda Palace, the seat of the President of Chile. The two Presidents discussed a wide range of issues on strengthening the Armenian-Chilean interstate relations and making joint efforts of cooperation in a number of spheres, having a potential for future development.
Noting with regret that Armenian-Chilean relations have developed at an undesirable rate since the declaration of Armenia’s independence, the parties shared an opinion that nowadays even a geographic distance is not an obstacle anymore, especially as both peoples have built their development path on the basis of the same values. The Armenian president noted that the purpose of his visit was to fill that gap and start a new stage of relations for the development of bilateral ties.
At the meeting the parties mutually stressed the importance of creating legal and contractual framework between Armenia and Chile, which is supposed to open up new opportunities for the development of political and economic cooperation.
The sides considered cooperation in a number of spheres, including agriculture – particularly wine-making, as having good prospects. In the context of expanding Armenian-Chilean cooperation, the presidents of Armenia and Chile attached importance to the encouragement and promotion of cooperation in education, science, culture, tourism and sports.
The Armenian president said the fact that Armenia and Chile have similar approaches and positions on most important universal issues is crucial from the viewpoint of strengthening the interstate links, and one striking demonstration is the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Chile in 2007.
The interlocutors underscored the modest but special role of the small Armenian community of Chile in the promotion of friendly relations.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Chile.
