The Chilean Vice Minister of Trade at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodrigo Yanez stressed that his country is keen on enhancing economic ties with Qatar.

Speaking exclusively to Qatar News Agency (QNA), he said that the visit was part of the priority assigned by the Chilean government to strengthening economic ties with Qatar and countries in the Gulf, given the great potential that exists between Chile and the Gulf region for bilateral trade and reciprocal investment.

Yanez noted that Chile stands out in its role as an articulator of trade in the Latin American region through its extensive network of trade agreements, which includes 30 agreements with more than 65 economies, allowing preferential access to more than 88% of world GDP.

Yanez said that talks with officials in Qatar focused on the ties of friendship that unite the two countries and the great space that exists to establish public and private alliances that might boost bilateral trade soon. He highlighted the complementarity that exists between the two economies and the role that Chile could play, as an important supplier of food to the world, in the food security strategy that Qatar has proposed.

He said that trade between Chile and Qatar in 2020 amounted to only $9 million, mainly exports from Chile to Qatar, highlighting the enormous potential for joint ventures. In the field of investment, Qatar Airways owns a 10% of LATAM, the main Chilean airway.

He also said that he visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prior to landing in Qatar, where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the GCC General Secretariat that will establish the foundations for much closer cooperation in the trade and investment field, and in the near future, it may promote a trade agreement between both parties. Such an agreement would allow the use of Chile as a gateway to Latin America at the same time as that of the Gulf countries to the MENA region.
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