MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Boric lands in Brazil for 4-day State visit

Boric and Lula are to discuss several strategic issues for the region

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font landed at the Brasilia Air Base Monday for a four-day state visit, during which he will meet President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to strengthen bilateral ties, among other engagements.

Lula and Boric also plan to sign a series of agreements and participate in a Brazil-Chile Business Forum, followed by a lunch at the Itamaraty Palace.

Key discussions will focus on the Bioceanic Road Corridor, a project to connect Brazilian Atlantic ports to Chilean Pacific ports via Paraguay and Argentina, enhancing trade and tourism.

The corridor, expected to be completed in 2026, requires a bridge and road paving in Paraguay. The visit, lasting until Thursday, underscores the deepening of Chile-Brazil relations, which began in 1836.

The President will begin his official activities Tuesday by commemorating the Day of Friendship between Chile and Brazil. He is then expected at the Planalto Palace for a bilateral meeting with Lula, after which they are both due at a Brazil-Chile Business Forum.

Both presidents will then have lunch at the Itamaraty Palace (Brazil's Foreign Ministry).

The Road Corridor, known as Bioceánica Capricornio, leaves from the Brazilian ports of Santos, Paranaguá, São Francisco do Sul, and Itajaí, on the Atlantic, crosses Paraguay and Argentina, and reaches the Chilean anchorages of Iquique, Mejillones, and Antofagasta, on the Pacific. It is expected to be open next year, with Brazil still under Lula.

However, for this to be achieved, a bridge connecting the cities of Porto Murtinho and Carmelo Peralta, in Paraguay, is needed, as well as the paving of a road between Mariscal Estigarribia and Pozo Hondo, also in Paraguay.

The other sections necessary for the land connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific are said to be already in place.

April 22 marks the beginning of diplomatic relations between Chile and Brazil, which date back to 1836.