Brian Nichols, Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, arrived in Santiago de Chile on Thursday to participate in the seventh meeting of the High-Level Bilateral Political Consultative Mechanism, together with the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Ximena Fuentes, which concluded with the signing of separate agreements on safety and diversity.
During the High-Level Dialogue, both governments focused on regional prosperity, security, ocean protection, strengthening democracy, and the implementation of the Los Angeles Declaration on migration.
After the meeting, both officials signed two memorandums of understanding. One gives law enforcement in Chile access to a US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program that tracks the origin and purchase of firearms used in crimes to help solve them.
nichols stressed “Chile’s partition into the e-Trace program, which combats domestic street crime by stopping the importation and improving the tracing of firearms, creating safer and more secure communities.”
In the second memorandum, they agreed on best practices to promote equity and accessibility in the State Department and the Chilean Foreign Ministry.
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Head of Diversity and Inclusion Affairs at the State Department, joined the State delegation, according to reportedto meet leaders and defenders of human rights in Chile.
Prior to the High-Level Dialogue in Santiago, Nichols met with US Ambassador to Chile Bernadette Meehan to discuss administration priorities. “Our relationship with Chile, rooted in democracy and human rights, continues to promote these shared values throughout the region,” said the undersecretary.
Before arriving in Santiago, Nichols spent two days in Uruguay to inaugurate the Annual Bilateral Interministerial Dialogue (ABID). There, both countries pledged to strengthen and expand collaboration on bilateral trade and investment issues, the promotion of regional and global security, the fight against climate change, support for democracy and the promotion of equality and inclusion.
These dialogues with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Bustillo, included ongoing negotiations, led by the US Trade Representative Office, to update and expand the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreements. Officials highlighted that Uruguay’s exports of services to the US amounted to more than 1,000 million dollars annually.
In addition, Uruguay agreed to join the Atlantic Cooperation initiative, to work with the North and South Atlantic nations on a variety of shared challenges such as improving port security and combating organized crime, international money laundering and growing threats to security. cyber security.
Undersecretary Nuland continues her trip in Colombia
Victoria Nuland, Undersecretary for State Political Affairs, arrived in Bogota, Colombia this Thursday for a two-day trip in which she will also visit the city of Cartagena.
Nuland will meet with President Gustavo Pedro and Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva to discuss shared priorities, including regional security, strong democratic institutions, socioeconomic and political inclusion for Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples, and the importance of implementing the Peace Agreement with the FARC in 2016.
On Friday he will arrive in Cartagena to participate in the closing ceremony of hospital ship visit USNS Comfort.
Nuland also visited Ecuador, where he signed the Open Skies Agreement with Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin, which allows the expansion of passenger and cargo flights between Ecuador and the US, to promote an increase in travel and trade and, thus, stimulate job opportunities.
Both sides have been applying the terms of the agreement on the basis of comity and reciprocity since the negotiations concluded in December 2021. The agreement will enter into force after a further exchange of diplomatic notes. The US has similar agreements with more than 130 partners.
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