Chile–Palestine relations refers to the current and historical relations between the

Republic of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...

. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Palestinian migration to Chile. There is a community of approximately 400,000 people of Palestinian origin in Chile which makes Chile having the largest Palestinian community outside of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

History

In the late 1800s, Palestinians (initially young men) began arriving to Chile. Many were escaping conscription into the Ottoman Army. Over time, more Palestinians would arrive to Chile and work in various industries in the country, particularly the textile industry. In 1947, Chile abstained from voting in the

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...

. In 1990, the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

(PLO) established an "Information Office" in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. In 1994, with the formation of the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

, the Information Office changed its category to a "Representation Office of Palestine in Chile". In April 1998, Chile was the first

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

country to open a Representation Office to the Palestinian National Authority in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

. In January 2011, Chile recognized Palestine as an

independent nation Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or Sovereign state, state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independ ...

. A few months later, in March 2011, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera paid a visit to Palestine and visited

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

and the city of

where he met President of the Palestinian National Authority,

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

. During his visit, President Piñera also visited and laid a wreath on the tomb of Yasser Arafat. In May 2018, President Mahmoud Abbas paid a visit to Chile. During his visit, President Abbas and President Piñera discussed the

Two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...

to the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

. In June 2019, President Piñera paid a second visit to Palestine and traveled to

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

, Bethlehem and Ramallah where he met again with Mahmoud Abbas. In December 2022, President Boric announced the opening of an embassy of Chile in Palestine.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Chile to Palestine * President Sebastián Piñera (2011, 2019) * Deputy Foreign Minister Edgardo Riveros (2014) High-level visits from Palestine to Chile * Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Anwar Hamam (2015) * Deputy Foreign Minister Tayser Farahat (2017) * President of the Palestinian National Authority

(2018)

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed a few agreements such as Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific, Technical, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (1996); Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of Health of Chile and the Palestinian National Authority, regarding health matters (2008); Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation (2011); Agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports (2016); and a Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation (2017).

Resident diplomatic missions

* Chile has a representative office in

. * Palestine has an embassy in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chile-Palestine relations

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

History

High-level visits

Bilateral agreements

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References