MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New US ambassador praises Chile as a model of stability

Alejandro Wolff presented his credentials this week to President Piñera

In his first press conference in Santiago, new U.S. ambassador to Chile Alejandro Wolff said that the miners’ rescue impressed him greatly.

The ambassador discussed the rescue, the relationship between the two countries and his hopes to visit and work within all regions of Chile, at his first official press conference as ambassador to Chile on Tuesday.

“The relationship between the United States and Chile is on solid footing,” he said.

Wolff spoke about the similarities Chile and the United States share in terms of economy, culture and military, among other things. The ambassador said that he hopes the two countries can deepen and broaden their existing cooperation in many areas, adding that Chile and the U.S. also share a desire to be a strong global presence.

“We share common concerns and share similar interests,” said Wolff, “We want to see prosperity in the region: we want to see prosperity in the world”.

Wolff emphasized that Chile can be a regional role model for economic and political stability, saying Chile has an important role to play both regionally and globally in this respect.

Wolff pledged to work to make Chile's voice heard, as other countries could learn from and even emulate many policies that have been implemented in Chile. He also vowed to seek improvement in intellectual property laws in Chile.

On Monday, the ambassador officially presented his credentials to President Sebastian Pinera in a ceremony at La Moneda. He was appointed by President Barack Obama as the new U.S. ambassador to Chile in June of this year and he arrived in the country on Sept. 15 after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Wolff has had an extensive career in the U.S. Foreign Service in countries such as Algeria, Morocco and Cyprus. Most recently he was the U.S. ambassador and Permanent Deputy Representative to the United Nations, a role which he held from 2005 until accepting his position as ambassador to Chile.

By Kayla Ruble – Santiago Times