Meeting held between the South American Directorates of Chile and Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministries

The meeting was chaired by the Director for South America at the Chilean Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Patricio Latapiat and Peru’s Director for South America, Minister Eduardo Zeballos.

During the videoconference, the officials from the Chilean and Peruvian Foreign Affairs Ministries reviewed activities for the second half of 2020 and coordinated action for joint handling of the Covid-19 epidemic, particularly in border areas, and humanitarian actions to facilitate the return of citizens to their countries of origin.

The meeting was chaired by the Director for South America at the Chilean Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Patricio Latapiat and Peru’s Director for South America, Minister Eduardo Zeballos. High-ranking military and police officials from the border regions of Tacna and Arica and Parinacota also participated.

During the meeting, the participants reviewed the procedures and objectives for military and police coordination, which were found to be good at all levels. Progress was also made with new contact and coordination mechanisms that will enable measures to control and safeguard borders and citizens in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic; the need to boost efforts between the entities responsible for the border control posts; the efforts to repatriate and reunite families from Chile, Peru and other countries; as well as issues related to fighting crime, particularly the increase in human trafficking.

For the second half of this year, the participants agreed to hold a virtual Midterm Meeting of the Border Development and Integration Committee, during which they will determine the format for the next meeting of this important shared border integration mechanism.

Source: https://chilereports.cl/en