MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Piñera arrives in Uruguay, the second leg of a three South American countries tour

The Chilean president addressed with his peer Ivan Duque the Colombian peace effort and increasing membership of the Pacific Alliance

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera with a delegation of two ministers and members of congress will be arriving Monday morning in Montevideo for a meeting with president Luis Lacalle Pou, the second leg of a three countries tour of South America.

His first stop was in Colombia where he arrived last Friday and met with his counterpart Iván Duque with whom he talked about regional integration, trade and signed an extradition treaty, replacing one dating to 1914.

“We have many shared tasks and commitments with our Colombia brothers. We have supported all along the peace process, and guaranteed the legality of what was finally achieved”, Piñera underlined. One of the places the Chilean president visited was a colony where a development and resettlement program for displaced people during the guerrilla is being implemented.

“This is a process of peace with legality, which Colombia is advancing with much commitment and that the world is following with sympathy and much hope”.

Another area of the talks involved incorporating Canada, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia to the Pacific Alliance and later Ecuador. Likewise promoting Pros, which is more politically centred than Celac considered too left inspired by Cuba and Venezuela.

Piñera added he agreed with Duque to have closer collaboration in issues such as Antarctica, combating forest fires, improve education, science research, and climate change.

“The climate situation is far more than a climate change challenge, it is definitively a climate crisis, and as such we must work together, join efforts to better-living conditions”. Piñera added climate change damage is far greater than anticipated, it is faster and ”some of it is already irreversible.

The Chilean delegation that also includes First Lady Cecilia Morel, Home and Public Health secretaries, Andres Allamand and Enrique Paris will meet with Lacalle Pou to address the pandemic and health situation, trade and analyze political affairs.

Late at night or early morning, the Chilean delegation flies to Asunción, Paraguay for the last leg of the South American tour. Piñera has some five months left in office and following the full year of pandemic lockdown is making up his foreign agenda. A few weeks ago he visited several European countries, including the UK, then was in New York for the UN general assembly and meetings with top officials from the Biden administration.

On Wednesday the Chilean delegation should be back in Santiago.