The Republic of Chile is interested in developing trade and economic relations with the EAEU States

The third session of the Joint Commission on cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and the Government of the Republic of Chile was held on March 20 to 21, 2017 in Santiago, Chile, under the co-chairmanship of the member of the Board - Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC Tatyana Valovaya and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile on international economic relations Paulina Nazal. “The session of the Joint Commission on cooperation between the EEC and the Government of the Republic of Chile reflects the mutual intent of the parties to deepen the dialogue, which in the long term should affect the quality of trade and economic relations between the EAEU Member States and the Republic of Chile,” Tatyana Valovaya said, opening the session. “This is fundamentally important, since our States have significant potential for mutual cooperation.” In her turn, Paulina Nazal stressed that “the Republic of Chile is interested in opening up new horizons for Chilean goods, services and investments at the single market of the Union.” Representatives of specialized departments of the EEC, of officials and business community of the Republic of Chile, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation took part in the work of the Joint Commission. A wide range of issues of the economic agenda were discussed during the session. The parties analyzed the state of trade and economic cooperation, ways to increase trade turnover and overcome imbalances in mutual trade, shared experiences of cooperation with third countries and regional integration associations, competition and antitrust regulation, government procurement, investment activity and a number of other areas. The EEC delegation was particularly interested in the reports of the representatives of the Office for the Protection of National Economic Interests of Chile and ChileCompra, the agency managing the government procurement system in Chile. The Chilean side showed great interest in the experience of the EEC activity in the sphere of technical regulation and the application of Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Quarantine measures. These topics were discussed in detail during a specialized seminar organized by the EEC at the site of Chile’s key business association SOFOFA (which unites more than 2,500 Chilean companies) on the eve of the session of the Joint Commission. The key speakers were the EEC experts; and representatives from leading Chilean companies focusing on the development of trade relations with the EAEU and Chilean experts involved in the support of foreign trade operations took part in it. The session of the Joint Commission resulted in the development of specific steps to deepen and systematize cooperation between the EAEU and Chile: a Joint Action Plan of the EEC and the Government of the Republic of Chile for 2017 and 2018, lists of products of export interest for Chile and of each of the Member States of the Union. In the future, these materials will be offered to the authorities and business associations of the EAEU States and the Republic of Chile. Following the session, a Protocol was signed, fixing the main agreements reached during the discussion. The parties agreed to develop contacts between the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union and the leading business associations of the Republic of Chile. The next session is planned to be held in 2018 on the territory of the EAEU. For Reference The Joint Commission on cooperation between the EEC and the Government of Chile was established in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the EEC and the Government of the Republic of Chile on June 19, 2015. The first executive session of the Joint Commission was held on October 2, 2015 in Santiago; the second – on September 26 and 27, 2016 in Moscow.