Under-Secretary for International Economic Relations of Chile Rodrigo Yáñez has paid a visit to Armenia recently. In the interview to Banks.am, he talks the main goals of his visit and Chile’s vision of cooperation with Armenia.

Mr. Yáñez, please briefly tell about the main purpose of your visit to Armenia.

The main purpose is to get closer to Armenia, get closer to the Eurasian Economic Union on trade, and to discuss the given chances of cooperation.

We have many similarities with Armenia, not just in terms of cultural background, but also the similarities in our geography. We think that we can support a lot the Armenian economy by sharing our expertise, our knowledge.

As you have mentioned, Chile is interested in establishing cooperation with the EAEU. In this regard, how do you envision a partnership particularly with Armenia?

I think Armenia can be a strategic partner in revealing the way to approach the Eurasian Economic Union. We have been here to tell why Chile can be a strategic partner for Armenia, why Chile can be a path for Armenia to Latin America. Also, we’re here to share information that we developed to analyze Armenian export and its potential to Chile.

There are over 1400 products that we import from the world, but we do not import from Armenia. So the idea of Chile being the second largest importer in the Latin American region only after Brazil certainly gives a lot of room for growth. But we have to work on better trade conditions, because Armenian export today faces a 6 percent tariff in Chile. Chile has one of the world’s largest free trade agreement networks, in which Armenia’s competitors pay no customs duties and thus get an advantage.

We had a meeting with Deputy Minister of Economy of Armenia, and one of the aspects that we discussed is that in the next few months we will be bringing a technical team to meet with their counterparts to share our expertise in markets like China, the US, Europe.

During the meeting you also expressed the interest in increasing the export of Armenian product to Chile. Currently, the main product is ore. What other goods can be exported to Chile?

We have identified spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc, as well aluminum foil, articles of jewelry, clothing, chocolate and other products containing cocoa.

So, there is this set of things that have a potential, but we should start working with our counterparts to connect our private sectors and business communities, and to identify the challenges and obstacles that trade can face from tariff as well as technical barriers.

We must think on the future of trade, talking about digital economy, digital trade. We’ve met with the [representatives of] the Ministry of High-Tech Industry too, to tell them about our experience, what we’re doing in the sphere.

Armenia mainly imports fish and alcoholic beverages from Chile. What other products do you think can be potentially exported to Armenia?

Well, we think that we can be a supplier of dried and fresh fruit, because we do not have the same season zone with Armenia and become a reliable partner in that.

Also, I think the aspect of services is very interesting. We have world-class industries in mining, in forestry, agriculture and aquaculture. Moreover, we have developed world-class services around the technical expertise, which I think could help to boost these sectors here in Armenia.
    
Before you visit to Armenia, you held high-level meetings in Russia and Belarus. Can you tell how productive they were in terms of cooperation with EAEU?

Very productive, because we established connections to exchange technical information and analyze what sectors have more potential in all five countries of the union to expand the scope of our trade. We have agreed to keep exchanging information so as to get to know better the potential and opportunities that there are for our economic relations.

Interview and photos by Gayane Yenokyan