MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Chile Day” in London underlines the very close links with the UK

Minister Swire recalled friendship can be traced back to Lord Cochrane’s involvement in Chilean independence two centuries ago

Chilean authorities and business people opened the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday as part of the “Chile Day 2014” which is the country's foremost promotion event abroad for the financial and business sectors. UK Foreign Office Minister of State for Latin America Hugo Swire underlined that Chile in “a key partner in the region”.

“Chile Day 2014” on its fourth eighth annual edition, is a two-day event held in London and on this occasion included Minister of Finance, Alberto Arenas, Minister of Economy Luis Felipe Cespedes, and Rodrigo Vergara, the Central Bank president, as well as the superintendents of pensions, banking and insurance and stocks, the president of the board of Codelco (the state owned copper company) and an estimated 200 CEOs of Chilean companies from the finance, energy, retail and forestry sectors.

About 200 British businessmen took part in Chile Day, showing the interest from the UK in the market as an export and investment location.

During the first day of the event, a conference was held at Mansion House, the seat of the Lord Mayor of the City of London. The occasion was a chance for stakeholders from the British financial sector, with their strong links to the rest of the global financial sector, to deepen their understanding of Chile and develop business connections.

In the evening the Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP, Foreign Office Minister of State for Latin America, held a reception for 200 people on the occasion of Chile Day in the Locarno room of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

On Tuesday following the opening of the Stock Exchange an estimated 100 Chilean and British businessmen attended a seminar on bilateral investment opportunities, with the aim of increasing investment links in both directions. Finally during the afternoon, 'Chile Insurance Day' was held at Lloyd’s of London, the world’s specialist insurance market, to expand UK-Chile links in the insurance sector.

Ministers Arenas and Cespedes also held a private meeting with Minister Hugo Swire. The ministers shared experiences and investigated further bilateral co-operation prospects in science and innovation, design and tax.

Minister Swire who has been to Chile, (for president Michelle Bachelet's inauguration last March) underlined the significance of “Chile Day” and the fact it takes place in London, one of the world's top financial centers, home of the world's principle metal exchange and a popular gateway to Europe.

The minister also pointed out to the excellent relationship and friendship between the UK and Chile that can be traced back to Lord Cochrane’s involvement in Chilean independence two centuries ago and mentioned some facts supporting those links, which make Chile a key partner in the region.

“For the fourth year in a row, the UK remains the top destination for Chilean Government-funded post-graduate scholars. Next year, we will more than treble the number of Chevening scholarships available to Chilean students” and approximately 80,000 British tourists visit Chile each year.

Bilateral trade last year reached an unprecedented £1.7 billion, double what it was five years ago, and British companies continue their strong presence in the important mining sector in Chile.

Minister Swire also mentioned the growing interest of the UK in Latin America and how it has been implemented.

“Believe me when I tell you that we have dramatically increased the number of ministerial visits across the region. And we now have more than 40 staff in Latin America working specifically on boosting trade and investment - including five based in Santiago.

”Last December, I spoke at the London Summit of the Pacific Alliance, to highlight how the British Government was pleased to have been awarded observer status. We see real potential in the Alliance. Chile is a fundamental part of the reason for our optimism and we want to work with you to make it an even greater success“.

Finally ”with Chile’s open and stable economy, rising middle class and wealth of natural resources, it is a shining beacon of progress and opportunity in the region”.