Undersecretary Valdivia signs agreement with the University of Concepción for cooperation in strategic areas

Today, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Carolina Valdivia, and the Rector of the University of Concepción, Mr. Carlos Saavedra, signed the Collaboration Agreement on research and strategic areas between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Concepción.

On that occasion, Under-Secretary Valdivia said that "the signing of this Agreement ratifies the desire to set in motion the need to look to the future in those areas that will affect Chile in the coming years: environmental care, migration, the densification of our extreme areas, water as a strategic resource, the ageing of the population, among others".

This agreement, which will be coordinated by the Strategic Planning Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to increase academic, scientific and technical cooperation between the two entities and, as the Undersecretary Valdivia pointed out, "in order to benefit not only both parties but also to contribute jointly to strategic issues of national interest in the short, medium and long term".

The purpose of the agreement is, among others, to carry out studies and specialized reports on foresight in Chile's seas, as part of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on emerging strategic areas.

The cooperation began in June and will cover several mutually agreed-upon areas: healthy oceans, which involves water quality, biodiversity and global warming. Another axis is that of sustainable oceans and another on safe and predictable ocean, which will provide data on navigation, accurate and timely location, coastal protection and anthropocentric risk management, among other issues. Alongside these themes, work will also be done to attract foreign human resources and scientific bases.