Bolivia and Chile To Discuss Ways To Boost Their Relations

On Monday, Bolivia's Foreign Affairs Minister Rogelio Mayta and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand held a meeting to advance bilateral ties. These South American nations have maintained no diplomatic relations since 1978.

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The meeting took place in Quito in the framework of the inauguration of Guillermo Lasso as the new president of Ecuador. 

Both diplomats highlighted dialogue as an essential tool for confidence-building and progress of the 2021 roadmap, which was agreed in early May for boosting bilateral cooperation and conflict resolution. 

The normalization of diplomatic relations includes talks for economic, educational, environmental, and drug trafficking combat areas. 

The resumption of bilateral relations conceives the holding of 23th Summit of the Mechanism for Political Consultations halted in 2010 and the reestablishment of working groups and technical tables.

Relations between Chile and Bolivia have been marked by a historical dispute over Bolivian access to the Pacific Ocean, which was lost after Chilean forces invaded Antofagasta in 1879.

In June 2013, Bolivia filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to promote a "prompt and effective" agreement with Chile for a sovereign outlet to the Pacific Ocean. However, the ICJ dismissed this claim and suggested negotiating to guarantee the free transit of Bolivian goods to and from the ports.