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 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 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.
