ANKARA

Chile and Türkiye are on a course to further improve relations in many domains, Santiago’s envoy to Ankara told Anadolu Agency.

Drawing attention to the long history of bilateral relations, Rodrigo E. Arcos said in an exclusive interview that his country became the first Latin American country that recognized modern Türkiye in 1926.

As early as 1930, Türkiye opened its diplomatic mission in Santiago and Chile reciprocated by opening its embassy in Ankara in 1940, he said.

Relations gained impetus in recent decades, according to the ambassador who revealed that the two countries are cooperating on Türkiye’s expeditions in Antarctica and undertakings to establish a permanent base.

The Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) is cooperating with Turkish scientists involved in the expeditions, who are transported to the frozen continent by Chilean ships, said Arcos.

“The Turkish base will be located very close to one of our bases there,” he said.

Arcos underscored that Chile is the only Latin American country with which Türkiye has a full free trade agreement.

The agreement, which took effect in 2011, is contributing to an increase in bilateral trade, which is projected to surpass its pre-pandemic volume in 2022, he said.

The two countries are currently working on updating the agreement and separate agreements to prevent double taxation to give a further boost to commercial ties and the prosperity of the countries, said Arcos.

He said that Chile, one of the world’s foremost countries in the mining industry and the largest copper producer, is willing to share its expertise and technologies with Turkish institutions and companies.

Because of Türkiye's excellent location, where Europe, Asia, and Africa meet, and its modern infrastructure, the ambassador said Chile wants to improve cooperation in the logistics sector.

He underscored that connecting Chile and Türkiye via flights on Turkish Airlines is something his country keenly wants to do and is working toward.

“Since I was appointed to Ankara in 2021, I held three meetings with them and I remain hopeful that THY would start direct flights between our countries,” said Arcos.

“Consequently, it would be an important step to expand our commercial relations to the hitherto untapped field of tourism,” he added.