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Despite political turmoil, Chile safe for business, Chilean deputy minister says
Chile remains a safe place to do business, especially for Indonesians, despite constant anti-government protests that have forced the South American country to cancel two major international summits, a Chilean deputy minister says.
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Two cranes operate at Koja cargo terminal in Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Feb. 19. (JP/Damar Harsanto)
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hile remains a safe place to do business, especially for Indonesians, despite constant anti-government protests that have forced the South American country to cancel two major international summits, a Chilean deputy minister has said.
Visiting Trade Deputy Minister Rodrigo Yanez, who was in Jakarta for a seminar about Indonesian-Chilean business opportunities on Tuesday, said that his country’s economic infrastructure such as ports and logistics flows continued to operate as usual and were not affected by the political turmoil.
Chile, a candidate for an Indonesian trade hub in Latin America, has in the past few weeks experienced massive protests triggered by increases to public transit fares in early October and persistent social and economic inequality.
Amid political uncertainties in Chile and many Latin American countries, Indonesian businesses and exporters have opted to wait and observe the situation, during which they will look for the most stable markets with a minimum level of risk, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairwoman Shinta Kamdani said recently.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has sought to expand Indonesia’s trade and investment portfolio in nontraditional markets, including in Latin America and Africa, recently warned Indonesian security authorities about the danger of unmanaged public discontent. He cited Chile as an example.
At least two major international forums, the APEC Summit and the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP25), were canceled in Chile due to the ongoing protests.
Yanez said the Chilean government was currently taking steps to address public discontent through discussions with the opposition and the introduction of bills in the congress to reduce living costs, restructure pension funds and formulate medium and long term road maps for constitutional reform.
