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Foreign Minister Ampuero meets with his German counterpart and proposes "recovery of historical memory" on the subject of Colonia Dignidad

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero held a working meeting this morning in Berlin with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas. During the meeting, they reviewed the main issues of bilateral relations, the situation in Latin America and Europe, as well as international political issues.

Chancellor Ampuero arrived on Tuesday evening from Brussels, where he participated in the Second Meeting of Celac-European Union Ministers.

After the meeting on Wednesday, held at the headquarters of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chancellor Ampuero said he was "very closely linked to Germany", while recalling that he had lived "in this city and also in the former GDR, at the end of the 1970s, beginning of the 1980s. In 1982 I moved to the West, as they said then".

He also thanked Minister Maas for "showing me the historical documents of my former German College in Valparaiso".

On the issues addressed at the meeting, the Secretary of State indicated that both countries "share so many values and perspectives with respect to international law, human rights, democracy, freedom, economy and trade". In turn, Minister Maas expressed his "interest in deepening cooperation, because Chile is like an anchor of stability in Latin America".

Minister Maas also highlighted cooperation on energy issues, dual education and the ongoing negotiation to modernize the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Chile and the European Union, in force since 2004. "Chile can count on the full support of the federal government in these negotiations," said the German representative.

In this context, Chancellor Ampuero highlighted the coincidence of views between Chile and Germany on free trade, "especially in these times when some are talking too much about protectionism".

Both Secretaries of State also pointed out that next August a meeting of the Joint Commission formed by both countries in 2017 will be held in Santiago to address the historical memory of Colonia Dignidad.

In this regard, Minister Ampuero pointed out that "for the Chilean government, Colonia Dignidad is an important issue. We are willing to make progress on this issue. It's about the recovery of historical memory for both countries and we have to take the next steps to make concrete progress. You can be sure that Chile is on the side of human rights, democracy and freedom.

On the situation in Latin America, both ministers expressed concern about the crises in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Minister Maas said, "We are impressed that Chile is welcoming many Venezuelans who took refuge. And not just Chile, other countries are doing the same. In that sense, we highly value Chile's role in all that context, also in the framework of the Lima Group. It is a very valuable task that Chile is carrying out".