MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Boric hopes relations with Bolivia will improve after Silala lawsuit

It is now in the hands of the ICJ to deliver a solution in the coming months, Boric said

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font Tuesday said he hoped his country's relations with Bolivia will improve once the trial over the use of the waters of the Silala river before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ends.

“I expect that Chile and Bolivia can close this chapter of a dispute of more than 20 years and a new step in bilateral relations will come,” said Boric. “The Chilean State intends to advance in the things that unite us,” he added.

Boric met Tuesday with Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola, together with Undersecretary Ximena Fuentes, who led the Chilean legal team before the ICJ.

“We can say that in The Hague we have presented a robust case and that it is now in the hands of the Court to deliver a solution,” Boric also pointed out.

Fuentes added that “we can speak neither of a winner nor a loser, but rather that both states will achieve the legal certainty that will allow them to cooperate on shared water resources.”

Joining Fuentes was former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Carolina Valdivia who served under former President Sebastán Piñera.

After the meeting, Boric highlighted the legal team's work, stating that he was “deeply grateful for their professionalism, their dedication, and the impeccable way in which they have defended the Chilean position before the Court.”

“The position that we as a Chilean State present before The Hague is well-founded and serious, and has been faithfully represented in the pleadings of the last few weeks,” he also stressed.

The Chilean head of state also said “it is in the hands of the court to deliver a solution in the coming months.”

“I expect that Chile and Bolivia can close this chapter of a dispute of more than 20 years and that a new step in bilateral relations will come,” he also said.