For Country Profile: Chile --- Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005

For Country Profile: Chile --- Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005 Note: Please do not cut

Foreword by the Ambassador of Chile to Indonesia, H.E. James Sinclair Manley

When the Government of Chile decided in 1935 to open a Consular Office in the old, romantic city of Batavia, the Chilean authorities were taking the first steps toward what, in the future, would develop into a rich and comprehensive partnership between the two countries, its peoples and cultures. Coincidentally, the first Chilean representative in Indonesia was the poet Pablo Neruda, one of the most prominent figures of our literature, whom years later was awarded with the Nobel Prize.

Decades have passed by and today we have the opportunity to be first-hand witnesses of the many changes experienced by this interdependent world. Nowadays, we live in a time of important global transformations. No longer are there countries at the center and others on the periphery. Some observers have proclaimed the "death of distance". Long distances have been overcome by communications and new technologies. Problems emerging in far away countries affect ours and, due to this particular fact, we need to be constantly monitoring and analyzing the different scenarios that have a bearing on political and economic decisions. Indonesia and Chile are such cases, where distance, different cultures, languages and races, are no longer obstacles to developing strong and broad links in a variety of fields. But this particular task also represents a gigantic challenge. Partnership in today's world has become not only inter-continental; it is also a global matter.

In the past, no institutionalized links existed between our two countries and only due to the visionary projection of leaders in both nations, our relations began to develop firmly and steadily. Today, this relationship appears as one of major strategic importance, with supply and demand between the two regions already well aligned. This strategic partnership should become the focal point of our relationship - on the east and west sides of the Pacific Ocean - as a strong and everlasting "silver bridge" (figurative linkage between two continents) that will keep our countries and peoples together with the necessary strength and confidence to develop economic and social policies to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

It is quite fortunate that precisely during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and after decades of hard work, we can proudly express that Indonesia has become one of our most valued partners in the southeastern Asia region, where Chile has the historic opportunity not only to project its image to the region and to the world, but also to make a significant contribution - by means of greater knowledge and understanding of each other - in creating an adequate and confident atmosphere for a permanent brotherhood. We call on our professionals, politicians, diplomats and all citizens in both nations to contribute in building this "silver bridge", strong and powerful enough to support a better linkage among our two countries, developing new strategies of collaboration that combine open, global economic policies with regional integration obligations.