The Asymmetrical Links between Chile and Australia

Abstract

Since Chile and Australia began to promote their bilateral relationship in the context of the Chilean transition to democracy and the increasing speed of globalization, between 1990 and 2012 three of five Chilean presidents have paid official visits to Australia. ¹ However, no Australian prime minister has made a state visit to Chile in the same period. ² Notwithstanding the Chilean regional leadership and its openness to worldwide trade, Australian minister of foreign affairs Stephen Smith and his Chilean counterpart, Alejandro Foxley, signed the 2008 Australia-Chile FTA in Canberra, not in Santiago. While the Chilean press gave extensive coverage to the FTA signing in Australia, the Australian press paid limited attention to it. ³ Despite the fact that the agreement shows that the Asia Pacific Region has become a new center of economic power, the FTA has not represented a dramatic geopolitical shift either for Chile or for Australia.