Chile’s new leader Gabriel Boric will travel to Argentina next month for a meeting with his President Alberto Fernández.
The visit, which will be Boric's first overseas trip as head of state, is planned for April 5 – a historic date for both nations, the so-called "Abrazo de Maipú" (“Maipú Embrace”).
Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola on Friday highlighted the great "symbolism" of the date, which was the day "the heroes of independence, General José de San Martín and General Bernardo O'Higgins, gave each other the famous embrace that sealed Chile's independence on April 5, 1818."
"That is precisely why the president is going to Argentina on that date," confirmed Urrejola in an interview with Chilean radio station Cooperativa.
He did not provide additional details of the president’s agenda, nor the length of Boric’s stay in Argentina.
Boric, who at 36 took office as Chile's youngest president on March 11, has previously told a number of media outlets that he wants to meet Fernández in a city other than Buenos Aires.
"I asked President Fernández to consider the possibility that it not only be in Buenos Aires but also include provinces in the interior – we are trying to have a presence in other places, not only in classic institutional places," explained the leftist leader.
He also said he hoped to make progress with Argentina on concrete collaboration on border crossing and investment issues.
The Chilean leader said he wanted "not only to have a meeting that has to do with money, investments or social change, but also with culture, which is something we share with Argentina and we have a lot to learn from each other."
Fernández was among the world leaders who attended Boric's inauguration earlier this month. During his trip, he declared that he had "the best expectations" for the new incoming government in Chile.
"For Latin America it is a great boost because he is a president who thinks about the region and that makes us very happy," the Argentine president said at an event in Valparaíso, the port city where Chile's National Congress is located.
Argentine singers Pedro Aznar and Victor Heredia also joined the Argentine delegation – both were specifically invited by Boric to attend.
– TIMES/AFP
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