The president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, declined on Monday the invitation of the current president of the nation, Sebastián Piñera, to attend an international tour that will take place on January 26th and 27th, 2022 in Colombia.
Santiago de Chile, December 27 (RHC)-- The president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, declined on Monday the invitation of outgoing President Sebastián Piñera to attend an international tour that will take place on January 26th and 27th, 2022 in Colombia.
The future occupant of La Moneda pointed out that his priority is to put together his team for the future government, although he asserted that he will make available the future authorities of international relations for the tour.
"We have made available to those who will be the future authorities in international relations to make all the necessary arrangements so that this is not understood, in any case, as a snub from the State," he said.
The outgoing head of State invited Boric to two international events that include a visit to Colombia, to the Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America (Prosur) and the Pacific Alliance.
In this respect, he expressed that "we are going to give priority to the Pacific Alliance in the future. I have already spoken with several of the presidents, especially with Andres Manuel López Obrador, from Mexico; Iván Duque, from Colombia; and we have also been in contact with the Peruvian Foreign Ministry."
In relation to Prosur, he stated that "it seems to us that it is an agenda of President Piñera's own, which is his legitimate right. When it is our turn to assume, we will develop our regional agenda, based on collaboration perspectives for the tremendous challenges we have at regional and world level."
Among the most important topics, he mentioned the fight against the COVID pandemic, the climate crisis, the migratory conflict, economic cooperation and the strengthening of democracy. Boric stressed that his decision not to attend was initially communicated to the President himself, because "in matters of State policies, we must be careful not to enter into debates that could damage the country's image."
Boric indicated that these matters are best discussed in person and not through the press, and commented that he asked the Chief Executive to safeguard the subject in the future.
For his part, Piñera, according to Boric, said that he perfectly understood his successor's position and expressed his willingness to ensure that the transition and the handover of power is carried out in the best possible way.
He also insisted that the current government's international agenda has not been the best. However, in other initiatives such as the Pacific Alliance, Boric showed interest in strengthening that relationship and promoting his own regional agenda.
