ECONOMY-CHILE: Presidential Mission Sets Out to Conquer Pacific
SANTIAGO, Nov 10 (IPS) - Chilean President Eduardo Frei set out Thursday on a tour of Australia, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, the highlight of which will be Chile's official joining of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) accord.
The Chilean mission is the largest of its kind ever to go abroad on what will also be one of the longest official tours, to last 14 days and cover vast distances.
Moments before boarding the plane, Frei said he would focus in his dialogues on "consolidating our presence in, and learning from this world" of the eastern Pacific.
The President, who will be accompanied by 107 members of the business community and 23 senior government officials and university presidents, will make a first visit to Easter Island, Chile's remotest territory.
The mission will arrive in Australia on Saturday, after making a fuel stop in Tahiti.
Frei will reach Indonesia on Sunday to participate Tuesday in the summit of the heads of state of member countries of APEC, which joins 17 countries of North America, Asia, and Oceania.
During that meeting Chile's entry into the planet's single largest economic and commercial agreement - as APEC's first South American member country, and second Latin American, after Mexico - will be formalised.
While until now APEC has basically played an advising and consulting role, it is possible that in the summit to be held in the Indonesian city of Bogor an agreement is reached to work towards the creation of a free trade zone, to go into effect within 25 years.
Membership in APEC has been considered basic to Chile's strategic projection towards the Pacific, an area which buys over 50 percent of the South American country's exports and from which Chile purchases over 40 percent of its imports.
The Chilean government and business community both hope to strengthen Chile's role as South America's "access port" to the eastern Pacific, especially for the members of the MERCOSUR (Southern Cone Common Market): Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
During his stay in Indonesia, Frei will meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton, with whom he will study Chile's possible entry into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as well as discussing the agenda of the upcoming Summit of the Americas to be held December in Miami.
The Miami summit will also be discussed during Frei's meeting with Mexican President Carlos Salinas.
The mission will visit Japan from Nov. 16-19 - the tour's longest stop-over due to the importance accorded the relationship with the Asian country by the Chilean government.
The President will be in South Korea from Nov. 20-22, later returning to Chile after refueling stops in Guam and Tahiti.
Interior Minister Carlos Figueroa will hold the post of Vice- President and serve as acting President during Frei's absence.
© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service