Chile is determined to boost economic ties with the Asia-Pacific region, as evidenced by its conclusion last month of a free-trade agreement with South Korea, visiting Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear said Thursday.
In a letter to The Japan Times, Alvear said Chile's global strategy is based on total integration with the international community on the basis of unilateral, bilateral and multilateral measures.
Specifically, she pointed to the steady reduction of tariffs and active participation in multinational organizations, such as the World Trade Organization and APEC.
Chile will become a member of the U.N. Security Council in January, she added.
Citing steady economic performance characterized by the doubling of gross domestic demand and per capita income over the past 12 years, the Chilean minister said strong emphasis has been placed on promoting exports in a way to diversify the overseas markets for Chilean goods and services.
In addition to the accords with South Korea, Chile recently agreed to a political and economic association agreement with the European Union, while progress has been made in negotiations with the United States for a free-trade agreement, Alvear noted.
"Political stability, economic growth, social equality and international insertion, all of those issues are underlined today by foreign investors and by the international financial community as solid arguments not only to invest in Chile, but also to transform our country (into) a Latin American operation center for companies from developed countries," she wrote.