Last updated in March 2010
Political relations
Since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990, bilateral relations have expanded on all fronts. Bilateral policy dialogue is close and founded on mutual trust, as reflected, for example, in the frequent official visits in both directions. The Chilean President Bachelet paid an official visit to Germany in October 2006, holding talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel and Federal President Köhler, among others. In May 2008, President Bachelet met with the Federal Chancellor again on the sidelines of the EU-Latin America summit in Lima. In March 2009, Federal Minister of Education and Research Schavan visited Chile. There were also numerous trips by parliamentarians and other representatives of the German Federal Government and the federal states.
Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle visited Chile on 7 March 2010, the first European foreign minister to do so after the devastating earthquake in late February. He took with him relief supplies and Federal Agency for Technical Relief experts and promised the Chilean government Germany’s solidarity and support. Former Federal Economics Minister and Bundestag member Michael Glos travelled to Chile to represent the German Federal Government at the inauguration of the new Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on 11 March 2010.
Chile has close and longstanding ties with Germany. The achievements of German immigrants in the south of the country (from 1850 onwards) and the dedication of German scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs and experts in all fields have played a key part in the country’s development and are still remembered today.
Chile is favourably disposed and sympathetic towards German concerns generally. Multilaterally, too, the two countries have many shared interests and are increasing stepping up cooperation and the coordination of policy, for example on global issues such as renewable energy (Chile is a founding member of the International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA), environmental protection and climate change as well as the reform and strengthening of the United Nations.
The successful work of German political foundations (the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Hanns Seidel Foundation all have offices in Chile) covers a broad spectrum and is much appreciated.
Economic relations
Germany and Chile have enjoyed good and substantial economic relations for many years.
Germany is Chile’s principal trading partner within the European Union and the country’s sixth most important supplier of goods worldwide. Germany’s principal exports to Chile are aircraft, ships, rail vehicles and cars, plant and mechanical engineering products, electricity generation and distribution equipment, electrical goods, medical and photographic equipment, measurement and control technology, chemical products, non-precious metal goods, steel, paper, wood and cellulose.
In2009, bilateral trade was worth EUR 2.69 billion. In the same period, Chilean exports to Germany were worth EUR 1.49 billion and German exports to Chile EUR 1.2 billion. Overall trade thus recorded a marked export surplus again in Chile’s favour. Chile’s principal exports to Germany are copper and copper products, fruit and vegetables, preserved foods and juices, fish and processed fish products, meat and animal-derived foods, wine, cellulose, wood, paper and chemical products.
In recent years, cooperation between Germany and Chile in science and technology has further intensified. The 2nd Meeting of the Science and Technology Cooperation Commission in November 2009 will provide new impetus to relations in this area.
German direct investment in Chile
German direct investment up to August 2009 amounted to more than USD 1.8 billion (aggregate figures since 1990). German companies made little use of the opportunities for increasing their stake in the 1990s, particularly in the broad privatization measures and franchising in infrastructure and public utilities (electricity, water, telecommunications, etc.), but they have recently been very successful in infrastructure projects. There are further extensive German investments in particular in the agro-industry, in mineral mining and in the property sector.
Development cooperation
Development cooperation remains a cornerstone of relations between Chile and Germany. The priority area of development cooperation is renewable energy/energy efficiency.
Germany is one of Chile’s principal donors, providing some EUR 50 million in 2007 and 2008. In addition, a considerable sum is invested from German government funds each year in development projects run by German non-governmental organizations and churches.
The Federal Foreign Office funds local microprojects. In 2008, 11 such projects were conducted in different regions of Chile, and in 2009 they numbered 10. Technical Cooperation (TC) focuses on programmes and projects to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. At present, there are over 20 German long-term experts working on a variety of TC projects, including 11 experts from the Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung (CIM). Also successful is Financial Cooperation, which likewise focuses on renewable energy and is active on behalf of the German Federal Government in this sector.
Cultural relations
Bilateral cultural relations are close and wide-ranging,thanks in part to German emigration to the country in the second half of the 19th century. They centre on academic contacts between higher education institutions and research institutions in the two countries, the programmes of the Goethe Institute and other cultural organizations and financial and personnel support for the 22 German Schools.
Many key positions in politics, business and science are held by Chileans of German descent, graduates of the German Schools, former German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Humboldt scholarship holders as well as Chileans who were in exile in Germany during the military regime. This significant group of people performs an important liaison and multiplier function in bilateral relations overall.
From 18 September 2009 to 18 September 2010 (the anniversary proper), Chile is celebrating the bicentenary (“Bicentenario”) of its independence. Germany has already made a wide range of contributions to the event and plans to organize further activities including:
the renovation of a historical early-twentieth-century theatre on the former premises of the German School in Valparaíso
an exhibition of the Max Planck Society’s Science Tunnel in Valparaíso from 9 October to 10 December 2009
the staging of a work by Pina Bausch for and about Chile, which was specially choreographed for the Bicentenario celebrations and is entitled “Como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si”, from 6 to 9 January 2010 in Santiago’s Teatro Municipal
an exhibition by the German architectural firm von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo/ Quinta Normal in Santiago starting on 17 June 2010
The German Schools, which have a long tradition, enjoy an excellent reputation in Chile. They regularly attain good to very good scores in the annual nationwide school rankings. Of the 22 schools, only the German School in Santiago has a section offering teaching exclusively in the German language, however. In the 2007 school year, the school began introducing a German-language section leading to the German International Abitur Examination. Once this section has been established, the first Abitur certificates can be awarded in 2012. The others schools teach German as a supplementary subject or foreign language. Some 15,000 pupils attend Chile’s German Schools.
Five new Chilean partner schools, including the highly prestigous Instituto Nacional, have been recruited to join the “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative. German instruction is now being promoted at these schools. In addition, the existing network of German Schools has been strengthened. These schools are being encouraged to introduce new school-leaving certificates providing university-entrance qualification (Mixed-Language International Baccalaureate). This not only gives the schools a more distinct German profile but also strengthens their international competitiveness.
As a rule, German and Chilean universities and research institutes cooperate directly. There is a close-knit network of contacts and institutional arrangements between German and Chilean higher education institutions. The number of cooperationprojects has since risen to 116. It has also proved possible to increase the number of scholarships in recent years. In March 2009, the DAAD signed an agreement with partners including the Chilean Ministry of Education, which provides for up to 100 scholarships to be awarded annually enabling Chilean postgraduate students to study in Germany.
On 7 September 2009, the German Rectors’ Conference and its Chilean counterpart, the Consejo de Rectores de las Universidades Chilenas, signed an agreement to set up six graduate schools. These schools promote academic exchange and allow mutual recognition of degrees and titles in the two countries.
As part of the Federal Foreign Office’s Research and Academic Relations Initiative, the Heidelberg Centre for Latin America has been selected as one of four excellence centres worldwide and can, as of March 2010, extend its postgraduate programmes, in cooperation with the Universidad de Chile and the Pontificia Universidad Católica, by adding the subjects Medical Physics, Medical Computer Science, Geosciences and Astronomy.
The Goethe Institute in Santiago is one of the most prominent cultural centres in the Chilean capital, also working together successfully with other European cultural institutes. Deserving of special mention here, besides its language courses, is its role in co-organizing the European Contemporary Drama Festival and the European Film Festival. The Goethe Institute was also instrumental in staging Pina Bausch’s last work as part of the Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival in January 2010.
