Garamendi takes part in the session of the Decentralisation Committee of the Chilean Senate in Valparaíso

• The meeting was attended by the five senators who make up the Commission, headed by its President, Senator Velásquez Núñez.

On the second day of the official trip to Chile, the Basque delegation, led by the Minister of Public Governance and Self-Government, Olatz Garamendi, travelled to the city of Valparaíso. There, she was received by the President of the Chilean Senate, Juan Antonio Coloma, and participated in a session of the Senate’s Government, Decentralisation and Regionalisation Committee.

In this session, which took place in the Senate, the entire Commission participated; it’s president, Senator Esteban Velásquez Núñez, and the senators, Carmen Gloria Aravena, Pedro Araya Guerrero, Karim Bianchi Retamales and Paulina Vodanovic.

At the end of the meeting, Garamendi reminded people that “decentralisation must be based on knowledge, responsibility and close management. And this can only be achieved from institutional loyalty and with the aim of achieving greater levels of well-being and progress for both the citizens of the Basque Country and Chile.”

This permanent commission of the Chilean Senate aims to formulate bills and analyse matters related to policies aimed at promoting administrative decentralisation, boosting local development management, meeting the needs of the regions and legislating for the country's internal welfare.

Bicameral Transparency Group of the National Congress

Before this, the Minister held a meeting in the National Congress with the Bicameral Transparency Group of the National Congress of Chile that encourages the participation of society in the development of laws. This Group, in turn, coordinates the Open Parliament Working Group of Chile of the Open Governance Partnership (OGP), an organ of which the Basque Country has been a part since 2018. Senator Alfonso de Urresti and Deputy Vlado Mirosevic Verdugo took part in this meeting.