Chile 2013 Blog: Alfredo Moreno, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile

Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfredo Moreno gave a presentation on intra-regional trade and the Pacific Alliance at AS/COA’s 2013 Santiago conference.

Chile is very small, and far from the developed centers of the world, Moreno began. And while these factors would be expected to define a country’s economic path, over the past decades Chile has found a way of achieving success, he said.

Download the minister's presentation.

The country owes its success to strong rule of law, said the minister. People know that in Chile they can defend their rights, property, and investments, regardless of whether they are foreign or nationals. To this end, Chile has the number one business climate in Latin America. If freedom and security are provided, Moreno noted, people, companies, and entrepreneurs will be able to develop successful enterprises. And that, in turn, will allow the country to move forward, he said.

One way Chile continues to be successful is to foment human capital development, which is especially important as globalization makes the labor market more competitive. To this end, said Moreno, the government is working to improve not only early schooling in Chile, but to send thousands of students to the best universities around the world. The questions that remains now is how the country will make the final push for developed country status, defined loosely as a per capita income of $24,000. Chile’s per capita income now stands at $19,000.

While the country has made a strong push to continue expanding global free trade, said the minister, there is a serious problem with regional integration. Ideological contrasts between countries should not get in the way of commerce and interchanges, said Moreno, adding that a respect of sovereignty, democracy, and human rights are the most important factors in cooperation. No one country knows which is the best path forward, but each can attempt its own way and keep working with regional partners at the same time.

To this end, the Pacific Alliance countries have come together with similar ideas about the integration of services, goods, capital, and, most importantly, people. “We share a belief in an openness to the world,” said the minister. This does not mean, however, that countries necessarily need to harmonize politics, he said. By lowering common barriers, entrepreneurs and businesspeople will have more opportunities to create better ideas, will have a broader field for development, will create more progress, and bring more wellbeing to those living in Pacific Alliance countries.

Watch the video (in Spanish):