Chile and Guyana on Tuesday renewed their commitment to promote the Latin America and Caribbean Region as a zone of peace, and signaled their intention to further explore opportunities for trade and investment as the Embassy of Chile celebrated Chile’s 215^th Independence Anniversary at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips said as sister South American Republics, Guyana and Chile continue to engage within regional integration mechanisms like CELAC, the OAS and the CARICOM-Chile mechanism on issues fundamental to safeguarding the region.

He said the Region has a responsibility to charter a way forward that would ensure a more equitable, secured, resilient and sustainable future for its people.

“Through the working of these mechanisms, and our individual and collective efforts, we have managed to maintain peace and stability in our region. Buttress by our shared values, including democracy, the rule of law, adherence to the United Nations charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Moreover, as peace and security remain a key concern across this region and hemisphere, we have doubled our efforts at combating transnational organized crime, strengthening citizen security and maintaining this region as a zone of peace,” Prime Minister Phillips said.

Chile’s Ambassador to Guyana Bernardo del Pico Rubio said maintaining a zone of peace is critical. .

“I would like to emphasize Chile’s commitment to promoting democracy, the rule of law, international cooperation, the peaceful resolution of conflict and respect for human rights. In this regard, Guyana and Chile share these principles and staunch promoter of them around the world,” Ambassador Rubio said.

Guyana and Chile established diplomatic relations on July 22, 1971. Since then, bilateral relations between the two countries have grown steadily with Chile establishing an embassy in Guyana in 2015.

Ambassador Rubio said in the area of trade, Chile is looking to expand its ties with the Caribbean, and has proposed the establishment of a trade committee in Guyana to foster trade and investment.

“We have proposed to Guyana the creation of a joint committee on trade and economic affairs, which could serve as a platform for greater engagement, coordinating shared priorities and identifying opportunities,” the Chilean Ambassador said.

The two countries have also been cooperating in the areas of diplomacy and diplomatic training, renewable energy, food safety, and education.

Prime Minister Phillips added that areas of cooperation also included the aviation, mining, and port security.

“Over the years, the cooperation agenda between our states has extended to include areas of air services, abolition of visas, mining, energy, and port security. Chile has also partnered with Guyana in its capacity building efforts through the provision of the training programmes in the Spanish language, diplomacy and geology. These initiatives have deepened our bilateral engagements creating opportunities for building the partnership between our countries and offering tangible benefits to our people,” Prime Minister said.

In June, Guyana and Chile held their first political consultation and established a framework for continued engagement and to explore other areas of cooperation.

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