MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Chile signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Eurasian Economic Commission to promote economic cooperation with members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Chile became the first country in Latin America to sign this form of agreement with the EEU.
"We are really keen and open to negotiate a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. As soon as they are ready to do it. A commercial agreement with the EEU, will obviously help to increase our trade in both ways," Eguiguren said.
Chile is interested not only in a trade partnership with Russia, but also enhancing cooperation in investments and services. This can be done at the level of private business, according to the ambassador.
"In the end of October, Business Council of Chile and Russia will have a meeting, and private businesses will discuss possible ventures together and investments," Eguiguren said.
Chile has consistently taken the long view with Russian relations, and brief conditional shifts, such as Western sanctions, will not hamper a bilateral partnership of high potential, the ambassador observed.
"We are very satisfied with our relations with Russia, but we know that we can do much more and we should continue working."
Chile, Russia to Negotiate Closer Trade, Investment Partnership in October
Russia and Chile will discuss in detail methods to boost collaborative trade and investment during an upcoming meeting of an Intergovernmental Commission between the two countries in late October, Juan Eduardo Eguiguren Guzman told Sputnik.
A meeting of the Russia-Chile Intergovernmental Commission on trade and economic cooperation will take place in Chile at the end of October.
"It is an important encounter for our two countries and we will work in different areas: economic, agricultural, science, technology and education. Also, it will be a good opportunity for our business people from Russia and Chile to meet and discuss possible ways of enhancing economic cooperation, investments, and trade," he told Sputnik.
The ambassador added that Chile has invited Russian investors to participate in various projects in Chile, including mining, energy and infrastructure areas.
According to Russia’s foreign ministry, in 2014 the bilateral trade turnover between Russia and Chile totaled $885.9 million, an 19.1 percent increase over 2013. In the first half of 2015, Russia’s export to Chile increased by 14 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Chilean custom service.
Following a deterioration of Russia's relations with the West over the Ukrainian conflict, Moscow increased economic cooperation within BRICS, the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.
