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Bilateral Agreements Strengthen Canada-Chile Relations
January 21, 1998
Santiago, Chile
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Canada's First Ministers today witnessed the signing of four bilateral agreements following a meeting with Chilean President Eduardo Frei.
"The Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement provided the foundation for our strong economic and trade ties," said the Prime Minister. "These agreements represent important building blocks in developing broader social and technological ties between our two countries."
The Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion will ensure that profits, income or gains made in one country and paid to a resident of the other country will not be taxed twice. The Convention will provide investors and traders in both countries of a stable taxation framework, further improving trade and economic relations between Canada and Chile.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Education Cooperation aims to expand bilateral cooperation in education, encourage the skills necessary for the new knowledge-based global economy, and foster greater learning and understanding between Canada and Chile. The centrepiece of the MOU is the announcement of three annual reciprocal scholarships that will allow Chileans to pursue graduate and post-doctoral studies in Canada and Canadians to study in Chile.
The Declaration of Intent for Cooperation in the Area of Science and Technology highlights the intention of Canada and Chile to undertake an evaluation of Chile's system of promoting scientific and technological research. The declaration will lead to enhanced links between Canada and Chile in the development of science and technology policy as both countries confront the challenges of building more innovative, knowledge-based economies.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Schoolnet and Information Highway Applications will allow Canada and Chile to cooperate in the use of information and communications technologies as they apply to learning, course development and content, teaching, labour retraining and community access. The MOU also provides for joint efforts in the development of an information highway in Chile.
The Prime Minister also welcomed three announcements made at the signing ceremony.
The Association of Canadian Community Colleges will support the establishment of an International Centre for Training and Technology Transfer in the Mineral Industry at the University of Atacama in Chile. The project is made possible by funding from the Canadian International Development Agency and Canadian mining firms. The Centre will promote a greater awareness of health, safety and environmentally responsible practices in Chile, southern Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
The International Development Research Centre, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture will establish the Chiloé Model Forest in Chile. The project will contribute to improved forest management practices in Chile. Through this project, Chile will become part of the International Model Forest Network, led by Canada, which is committed to the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests.
Environment Canada, Industry Canada and the Chile's National Commission for the Environment have exchanged documents confirming their intention to renew for two years a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Environmental Cooperation. Since the MOU was signed in 1995, more than 20 joint activities have been undertaken to improve environmental management and promote sustainable development. Future projects will focus on transfers of technology, and will complement commitments made to strengthen environmental cooperation and enhance environmental enforcement and compliance under the Canada-Chile FTA environmental side agreement.
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