(Adnkronos) – Italy and Chile want to broaden bilateral cooperation in range of areas from the economy to the fight against crime and policies to boost their birth rates, conservative premier Giorgia Meloni and Chile’s far-right president-elect Jose Antonio Kast said during talks in Rome on Thursday.
Meloni held talks with Kast at Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister’s office, Palazzo Chigi, congratulating him again on his decisive electoral victory last month against governing left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara, according to a statement.
Kast will be inaugurated as Chile’s president in March.
During the talks, Kast outlined the future Chilean government’s priorities, “with particular reference to measures for economic growth, attracting investment, bolstering the fight against crime, and policies to support the birth rate,” said the statement.
Meloni and Kast want to expand bilateral cooperation “in these areas as well,” said the statement, referring to the policy economic, security and social priorities for Chile outlined by Kast.
The two leaders “emphasised the importance of simultaneously intensifying dialogue and collaboration with Latin American partners in strategic sectors, in order to increase the resilience of energy and critical raw materials supply chains,” the statement concluded.
Kast’s victory in Chile follows a string of elections in Latin America that have shifted the region to the Right in recent years – including in Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.
