Garamendi: “In Chile we have proven that the Basque Country is a benchmark in terms of governance and self-government”

• On the last day of her fruitful trip to the South American country, the Minister of Public Governance and Self-Government participated in a colloquium on the transfer of skills from the Basque Country to Chile
• She has held numerous meetings and events with representatives of the Government and parliamentarians, as well as with local and regional authorities of Chile, which have served to strengthen the Basque Country’s relationship with Chile

After four days in Chile and with a full agenda, the Minister of Public Governance and Self-Government, Olatz Garamendi, was able to confirm that the Basque Country and Chile, despite the physical distance that separates them, are two countries that profess to be close.

In the words of the Minister, this trip “serves to consolidate our close institutional, economic-commercial and cultural ties and to continue with our Basque Country internationalisation strategy”. Garamendi added that “we have been able to verify that internationally they see us as a benchmark in matters such as public governance and transparency and in the process of transfer of powers and decentralisation.”

The Basque delegation’s trip ended with participation in a colloquium, in online format from the capital Santiago, aimed at regional governments and representatives of the Government of Chile for the exchange of experiences and learning about the transfer of skills.

At the meeting, the Minister recalled the importance of “maintaining a will to negotiate to advance in greater self-governance that provides greater closeness in management and greater well-being for the Basque people”. Together with Garamendi, the Deputy Minister for the Legal Regime of the Basque Government, Sabino Torre, the Regional Administrator of the Regional Government of O’Higgins, Natalia Sánchez, and the Administrator of the Regional Government of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Christian García, took the floor. More than 120 people distributed throughout Chile connected online to the session.

The agenda of the last day was completed with a meeting with Senator Ximena Rincón with whom she shared experiences on governance and decentralisation. Currently, Rincón is a senator for the Maule region and was President of the Senate, Minister of Labour and Social Security and Intendant of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. Also, late yesterday, the Basque delegation held a meeting with Claudio Orrego, the current Metropolitan Regional Governor of Santiago, a region that is the headquarters of the Executive Branch, the Supreme Court and with a significant proportion of the Chilean country's companies and industries.