Bolivia closer to the sea: Chile grants free access in Iquique

[Judi Lynn]

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Bolivia closer to the sea: Chile grants free access in Iquique



Iquique port

Chile announced on Tuesday that the northern port of Iquique will be of free transit for Bolivia and suggested advances on the bilateral negotiation agenda for ending Bolivia’s landlocked condition which dates back to 1879/1883 when the so called Pacific or Saltpeter war (*).

Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Alberto van Klaveren made the announcement in La Paz where he met with his Bolivian counterpart Hugo Fernandez to consider the 13 point agenda agreed in 2006 by president Evo Morales from Bolivia and Chile’s Michelle Bachelet.

“I can announce that the decree for the opening of the port to Bolivian operations has been approved and has gone through all the necessary steps”, said Van Klaveren before stating that “Iquique is the first Chilean port which opens for the free transito f Bolivia since 1904”.

He added that bilateral relations “are going through an excellent moment” and suggested that in the “maritime issue”, both countries have managed “to advance in terms of criteria and observations”.

“We’ve always held that in the maritime issue we want to advance with no haste but without pause”, said Van Klaveren, who described discussions as “very serious”.

The Bolivian Deputy minister Fernandez read part of the joint act stating that both officials reiterate “their conviction that through the dialogue process, a realistic and looking into the future approach, the necessary agreements can be reached”.

More:
http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=13743&formato=HTML

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chile seeks ways to improve Bolivia's sea access

Chile seeks ways to improve Bolivia's sea access
Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:05pm BST

SANTIAGO, June 19 (Reuters) - Chile said on Thursday it was exploring ways of expanding sea access for Bolivia, the neighbor it left landlocked more than a century ago after seizing much of its immense copper wealth.

Sea access has been a major issue for Bolivia since the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific that allowed Chile to annex a vast northern expanse of land from both Peru and Bolivia.

Chile has rejected yielding any sovereignty over the territory, but on Tuesday authorized Bolivia to import goods under its own authority -- without the intervention of Chilean customs -- through the ex-Bolivian port of Iquique.

It is looking for additional ways to resolve the issue, even though hopes of reestablishing diplomatic relations broken off 30 years ago still look distant.

"There are other measures to improve Bolivia's access to the sea that have been discussed in very general terms, and at some point it will be necessary to do technical studies," Alejandro Foxley, Chile's minister of foreign relations told reporters.

More:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN1934127820080619