RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Freddy Mamani shared that the strengthening of the port of Ilo will be central to the agenda that Peru and Bolivia will address in the binational cabinet in October, he said in an interview with Bolivia TV
The goal, he said, is to improve alternatives to Chilean ports for Bolivia. Bolivia and Chile have a delicate and fragile relationship, not least because Bolivia still demands the unconditional return of land annexed by Chile after the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) to regain access to the sea. Chile has refused for decades.
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In 2016, then-Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru agreed to facilitate Bolivian cargo access to the Pacific Ocean through the expansion of Ilo.
Both countries have also already signed agreements to export Bolivian gas to Asia through the port of Ilo.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mamani and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration Benjamín Blanco attended a preparatory meeting Monday with Peruvian officials on the road to the binational meeting.
Environment, transboundary water resources, security and defense, institutional strengthening, and infrastructure for integration and development are other issues on the two countries’ agendas.