Chilean President Sebastián Piñera began his agenda this Monday in Washington, D.C with a lecture entitled "Competitiveness of Chile in the XXI Century: A path to development and economic growth," as reported by news agencies EFE and DPA.
The Head of State arrived this weekend from Canada and his agenda for June 3 included a meeting with the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde. And after that, he's visiting the State Department to hold a working lunch with the head of U.S. diplomacy John Kerry.
The Obama administration has begun a strong economic offensive in Latin America in recent weeks through visits of the President himself and his number two, Joe Biden, to various countries of the region—something now seen as a source of new business opportunities and job creation. Piñera is the first of several regional leaders that will be received in the Oval Office in the coming months.
According to the White House, Obama expects to speak with Pinera about "a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues," including joint work in the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both countries are part of the group, along with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
It should be noted that trade between the two economies reaches the amount of $28,000 million. And of that total, $18,000 million belong to imports that Chile receives from the United States.
In addition, the Chilean press reported that in the meeting of next Tuesday between Piñera and Obama, the boundary issue between Peru and Chile could be addressed a few months before knowing the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Quoting sources of the Chilean Foreign Ministry, the newspaper La Tercera reported that the Chilean government intends to address this issue with Obama because the United States could play an important role as a mediator, depending on the court ruling.
It's also circulating that the Chilean President intends to get the White House's support for the nomination of his country to a non-permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations, according to DPA agency. And if the leaders agree, the South American president expects to announce, at his return, Chile's entry to the "Visa Waiver" progrm that allows the entry of tourists to the United States without a visa.
Piñera's visit to Washington is part of a tour that also includes other cities in the United States, Canada, El Salvador and Panama.