Chile’s Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren . —Photo by Nhac Nguyen/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — Chile’s Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren arrived on Friday and met with President Marcos at Malacañang to jump-start negotiations for a free trade agreement.

During his meeting with the foreign minister, Marcos said there is “great potential” for the Philippines to have tie-ups with Chile in agriculture, especially in cacao cultivation and processing.

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“It’s becoming a very important crop, slowly becoming an important crop. We are trying to promote it. And you have, I think, the best technologies when it comes to that product,” the President told Van Klaveren.

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Marcos also thanked Chile for backing the Philippines’ bid for a seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2027-2028 term, in exchange for supporting Chile’s bid to the UNSC for the 2029-2030 term.

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He assured the minister that the Philippines is also exploring other investments with Chile and that Klaveren’s visit will “further the relations between our two countries.”

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Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque, who was present during the meeting, said the government also wants to explore cooperation with Chile on fish and minerals exports from Mindanao.

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“There are skin beauty products and other things that we can explore … And also, the agriculture sector and the seafood products that we can export to them,” Roque said.

On Friday, Roque and Klaveren held a press conference to announce the two government’s decision to begin negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Philippines and Chile.

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A free trade agreement is expected to expand economic relations, which was valued at $141.24 million in 2023 when Chile was the Philippines’ 49th trading partner out of 230 nations, 47th export market out of 205 nations, and 50th import supplier out of 221 nations.

Van Klaveren said he had a very productive, if short visit to Manila, which included meetings with Roque and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

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“We have had a very productive meeting with Secretary Manalo … And we talked about our bilateral relations, about regional and global issues, and about the potential of our bilateral relationsking game,” he said.

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