"Our people want results, that is why we are here. The buoyancy of our future will depend on how we capitalize, together, the best of each country, and if we build on the synergy of our two countries, which have learned to know each other and to work together, one on the Pacific ocean and the other on the Atlantic, the future of the region will be much brighter" Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie stated in Santiago de Chile while attending, together with Chief of Cabinet Marcos Peña and several Argentine Ministers, the opening of the Ninth Binational Meeting of Ministers.
Faurie explained that "we share with Chile a border of over 5 thousand kilometres, so our bilateral relationship is imbued with unique value and complexity. Both peoples share a common destiny in which integration is a State policy." "Our countries have the willingness to become integrated: Chile as a member of the Pacific Alliance and Argentina as a member of Mercosur, and we are together in a process of strengthening ties through one of the most meaningful economic complementarity agreements at a regional level."
"We have to keep working everyday to facilitate entry to Argentina for Chileans and entry to Chile for Argentinians; that is true integration, which will also allow us to boost the economic drivers required for the growth of our countries, and, to support trade development, we need border authorities to contribute to simplifying things," Faurie stressed.
Faurie pointed out that "during the meeting many concrete and specific results were achieved in the following areas: physical integration; the recognition of driver's licences; the movement of trucks and cargo; the application of simplified immigration controls at 6 border crossings, which is already effective; the waiver of taxes on urban transport for passenger buses between neighbouring cities; the recognition of primary and secondary education degrees, and the regulatory framework of air, railway and maritime transport, whether in shared lakes or in the southern region."
"Everything is aimed at the people, that is the spirit of integration" he reiterated and, to conclude, added that "from the south, Argentina and Chile need to provide joint responses to the world, where decisions of global importance are made, and that is why we need to submit joint proposals in different fields, such as tourism (shared package holidays), defence, cybersecurity and the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism."
The event, held within the context of the Treaty of Maipú on Integration and Cooperation, is the second most important one at a bilateral level after presidential meetings. The Seventh Meeting of Argentine Governors and Chilean Mayors of the Common Border was held at the same time to achieve greater coordination and efficiency as regards concrete aspects of integration. It is worth mentioning that Argentine Ministers were received at the Palacio de La Moneda by the President of Chile, Sebastiàn Piñera.
After the opening, Faurie attended a meeting with his Chilean counterpart and the Ministers of Defence of both countries, known as the "2+2 Mechanism", a strategic dialogue framewok setting an example for the region in terms of mechanisms for transparency and trust-building. In the afternoon, both countries signed a series of agreements in the fields of border facilitation, immigration, education, sports and environment, among others.
Press Release No. 337/18
