The Foreign Secretary visits Chile as the UK and Chile celebrate 200 years of bilateral consular relations.

During his time in Santiago, the Foreign Secretary will chair the UK-Chile High-Level Political Dialogue alongside Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren. As Chile commemorates 50 years since the military coup of 1973, the Foreign Secretary will visit Santiago’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights alongside Foreign Minister Van Klaveren, reaffirming the UK and Chile’s shared values and commitment to democracy and human rights. 200 years since the appointment of Great Britain’s first Consul General, the Foreign Secretary will launch a campaign celebrating the bicentennial of bilateral consular relations. The Foreign Secretary will also deliver a speech to young Chilean changemakers, meet Chile’s next generation of female leaders and visit Latin America’s first green hydrogen plant and fuel station.

The Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, will visit Chile on 22 May as part of a regional tour of Latin America and the Caribbean underscoring the UK’s partnership with the region. At the UK-Chile High-Level Political Dialogue, the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Van Klaveren will set the direction for the UK and Chile’s diplomatic, economic, trade and defence links. The ministers will review the UK and Chile’s bilateral trade relationship after Chile’s accession to CPTPP and the UK’s conclusion of negotiations to join the agreement; the UK and Chile’s partnership on climate and sustainability, including the green energy transition; and co-operation on multilateral issues as two likeminded partners committed to working together to solve global challenges.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

This is a milestone year in the history of UK relations with countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, including in Chile.

While I look forward to celebrating our longstanding and historic relationship, I am also in Chile to renew and enhance our ties for the years ahead.

It is a partnership that will be marked and strengthened by our shared values of freedom, democracy and concern for the state of our planet.

The Foreign Secretary will also address an audience of young Chilean changemakers at the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Centre, where he will give a speech on the UK’s relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean, the values shared by the UK and the region, and how to work together to tackle the critical global issues of the 21st century. The Foreign Secretary will also visit Anglo American’s green hydrogen plant to witness how renewable energy technologies pioneered by British business are leading the way on the green energy transition and a more sustainable approach to mining. During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will also announce a post-graduate scholarship programme focusing on lithium technologies and environmental governance.

At an event marking the 200-year anniversary of the UK and Chile’s bilateral consular relations, the Foreign Secretary will celebrate the UK and Chile’s historic and thriving people-to-people links. The Foreign Secretary will join representatives from business, government, academia, the arts, civil society and sport to celebrate this historic moment with people who are at the heart of the UK-Chile relationship, working together on issues that are important to both the UK and Chile. Photo by Markoparkhill, Wikimedia commons.