With a busy schedule and activities in various locations, Minister Mario Marcel concluded his first day at Chile Day in London, United Kingdom. The initiative launched this Wednesday and is organized by InBest Chile and the Ministry of Finance to promote the Chilean financial market as an investment destination in a global context.
Minister Marcel began his participation in the panel “Green Mining: From Chile to the World”, where he discussed the specifics of this industry in the country. The Authority emphasized the role that public policies can play in contributing to and supporting their transformation so that productive diversification can effectively occur, which in turn creates value chains around them. Also taking part in the conversation were Ruben Fernandes, General Manager of Anglo American Base Metals London; James Bell, vice president of investor relations at BHP; and Iván Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals; and was hosted by David Gallagher.
The Minister then held a bilateral meeting with the Chilean Ambassador to the OECD, Francisco Saffie, and then delivered the keynote address to those present at the Gladstone Library. This presentation, entitled “Rebalancing the Chilean economy to build a better future,” delved into the evolution of our country’s economic situation post-pandemic, the fiscal adjustment achieved in 2022 and how it relates to the challenges faced country faces. in industries such as lithium and green hydrogen.
Marcel pointed out that “this is a pretty significant economic adjustment.” For any of you who have seen some of the efforts in various places around the world, this shows that early and coordinated action really pays off. And also that public policy can do much to mitigate some of the unintended social consequences of such an adjustment. Of course, there are still a number of challenges in boosting employment and private investment, but they are still the things we need to make further progress. The normalization of monetary policy will support the investment recovery. And of course that will take us to a different phase of economic development.”
The minister took the opportunity to point out the progress in the fiscal compact dialogues. He expressed his optimistic outlook on the outcome of the meetings with the political parties as the discussions were productive. It discussed the content of the proposal, with a particular focus on growth-enhancing measures, since this approach “has been significantly strengthened over time and this is now significantly reflected in the agenda of the current fiscal compact proposed by the government” , he remarked. “If we want this to have a lasting impact on economic activity, we obviously need some of these key measures to address the more structural characteristics of the Chilean economy,” the minister added.
In the afternoon, the head of the finance department came to the London School of Economics at the invitation of the dean of the School of Public Policy of this institution and former finance minister Andrés Velasco. Both spoke to an audience full of students, investors and economists about various topics that can impact the economy. They also addressed the need to ensure stability in state coffers and the economy as a whole.
Agenda for Thursday
This Thursday the activities of Chile Day continue and Minister Marcel will open the day with a visit to the British Parliament together with the Chilean delegation. He will then take part in the panel “Building a World Center for Green Hydrogen”, where he will be joined by Energy Minister Diego Pardow and Lucas Aranguena, Head of the Green Finance Group at Banco Santander; and James Calaway, President of MAE & Ioneer.
Marcel will later hold new meetings with investors and the UK Treasury, led by Business Secretary Andrew Griffith.
