MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean president Piñera is in London and will be meeting PM Boris Johnson

British leader is expected to praise the current Chilean political process of drafting a new constitution and holding a general election next November

Chilean president Sebastian Piñera is in London, the last leg of his European tour that took him to France, Spain, Italy, the Vatican and now the United Kingdom where he is scheduled to have an interview with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Long time allies, from the time Chile was part of the Spanish colonial empire, the Royal Navy and some of its officers played significant roles in the independence process.

Besides, talking about trade, investment and political issues the British leader is expected to praise the current Chilean political process of drafting a new constitution and holding a general election next 21 November. Another issue is the coming United Nations COP26 climate change conference to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, hosted by the UK, from the end of October to 12 November.

Piñera will also hold meetings with medical staff and scientists to exchange experiences on combating the Covid-19 pandemic, and what lies ahead for two countries that have managed to vaccinate most of their populations.

The Chilean president's last meeting in the continent was with Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the two leaders addressed among other issues relations of Chile with the Catholic Church and the full support from the Holy See to the ongoing political process.

“Conversations held, allowed us to exchange ideas about some issues related to the current regional and international situation, as well as the promotion of peace and human rights in the world”, said a brief release from the Chilean presidency. Piñera presented the Pope with a chessboard made out of combability while Francis reattributed with hand-painted majolica with a drawing of a Saint Peter bronze statue as well as the encyclicals and the last Peace Message.

The last time Piñera was at the Vatican was in 2018, before the papal visit to Chile. During his tour of the continent Piñera met French president Emanuel Macron, Spanish president Pedro Sanchez and Kind Felipe VI, and in Italy, President Sergio Mattarela and Prime Minister Mario Draghi.