The president of India, Ram Nath Kovind, was welcomed by his Chilean counterparty, Sebastián Piñera in the Presidential Palace of La Moneda to mark the beginning of a state visit to our country last March, lasting until April 2.
After the welcome ceremony, both leaders met for wide-ranging talks, also with ministers and officials from the two countries, after which they issued a joint statement which ended in a luncheon in honor of the Indian President.
Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Chile on Saturday, March 30 from Bolivia and over the whole weekend he conducted a series of activities of a private nature, among which was his get-together with members of the Indian community in Chile.
He also paid tribute to the Father of the Indian Nation at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in the capital, besides visiting the museum of Pablo Neruda, which showcases the literary works and art collections of the Chilean poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Economic affairs were at the top of the agenda during discussions between both delegations, as India represents a strategic market for the growth and diversification of Chilean exports in Asia.
This became evident as a result of the efforts made by the Chilean authorities over the last few years aimed at closing the gap between our two countries in an attempt, above all, for Chile to increase its agricultural exports, especially fresh fruit. In 2018 sales of fresh fruit almost trebled those of the previous year, accounting for exports worth US$ 24.8 million.
With a tour that had hitherto taken him to Croatia and Bolivia, the Indian President wound it up in Chile.
MundoChile was distinguished as the official supplier of consecutive interpretation services for the Indian President’s delegation (which included his wife and daughter), as well as also providing indispensable language support for the whole of the crew of Air India; the flag-carrier used by President Ram Nath Kovind.