José Antonio Kast, President of the Republic of Chile, received His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, and the accompanying UAE delegation on an official visit to Chile, at the Presidential Palace in the capital Santiago, in the presence of Mohamed Al Neyadi, UAE Ambassador to Chile.
At the outset of the meeting, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi conveyed the greetings of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, to the Chilean President, along with their congratulations to His Excellency on assuming his duties, wishing him success and sound judgement, and wishing the Republic of Chile and its friendly people continued progress and prosperity.
For his part, President José Antonio Kast welcomed the UAE delegation and asked His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi to convey his greetings to the UAE's wise leadership, expressing his wishes for the UAE — leadership and people alike — of continued progress and prosperity. He expressed his country's appreciation for the strong ties binding the two nations and its aspiration to strengthen and develop them across various fields of mutual interest, particularly in trade and investment.
President José Antonio Kast praised the UAE's role in consolidating peace and promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence, affirming that its policy of dialogue, partnership-building and international cooperation has made it a global model in supporting security and stability.
The Chilean President commended the UAE's efforts to build bridges between peoples and support initiatives aimed at consolidating peace and sustainable development, in ways that enhance global stability and prosperity.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen joint cooperation across various fields and sectors of mutual interest, particularly in trade and investment, reflecting the growing strategic relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Chile and both parties' commitment to elevating it to more advanced levels.
Both sides affirmed the importance of advancing the growing trade and investment relationship and their shared commitment to taking it to broader horizons in ways that serve the common interests of both countries.
His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi led a high-level UAE delegation — comprising government officials, business leaders and representatives of a number of UAE companies — to the Republic of Chile as part of UAE Trade Weeks, where he held a series of meetings with senior government officials, investors and private sector representatives in Chile. These included Martín Arau, Minister of Public Security; Jimena Rincón, Minister of Energy; Patricio Torres, Deputy Foreign Minister of Chile; Paola Estévez, Undersecretary for International Economic Relations; Álvaro González, Undersecretary of Mining; Rodrigo Yáñez, Vice President of the Confederation of Chilean Industry; Ignacio Fernández, Director of ProChile; and Juan Pablo Candia, Director of the Chilean Investment Promotion Agency.
The meetings covered ways to enhance investment and trade cooperation and the investment opportunities available in a number of vital sectors, including renewable energy, agriculture, technology, mining and infrastructure, reflecting the UAE's commitment to strengthening the role of the private sector in supporting joint economic development and creating new opportunities for growth and prosperity.
The visit also featured a roundtable bringing together investors and business leaders from the UAE and Chile, which reviewed trade and investment opportunities in the targeted sectors on both sides and prospects for enhancing private-sector partnerships in ways that support investment flows and trade exchange, and promote sustainable economic development.
His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi affirmed the UAE's commitment to continuing to build a close strategic partnership with Chile that supports both countries' sustainable development goals, noting that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the UAE and Chile, which entered into force last November, represents a solid platform for enhancing economic cooperation and opening new horizons for the private sector in both countries.