Chile's Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna held his first meeting with former foreign ministers on Friday following the government's withdrawal of support for Michelle Bachelet's UN Secretary-General candidacy. The session focused on Chile's foreign policy challenges amid prior objections from attendees. Pérez Mackenna described the dialogue as "very positive".
On Friday, March 27, Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna chaired the first Council of Former Foreign Ministers, shortly after President José Antonio Kast informed Michelle Bachelet of the withdrawal of Chile's support for her candidacy to succeed António Guterres as UN Secretary-General. The bid, presented in September by Gabriel Boric's government, now has backing only from Brazil and Mexico.
Prior to the meeting, former ministers including Ignacio Walker, Heraldo Muñoz, Antonia Urrejola, Alberto van Klaveren, and José Miguel Insulza sent a letter criticizing the decision. Some declined a subsequent lunch as a protest.
Attendees included Hernán Felipe Errázuriz, José Miguel Insulza, Juan Gabriel Valdés, Ignacio Walker, Mariano Fernández, Alfredo Moreno, Heraldo Muñoz, Roberto Ampuero, Antonia Urrejola, and Alberto van Klaveren. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the session analyzed "the main challenges of Chile's foreign policy in the current international context".
Pérez Mackenna said: “We had a very positive first meeting, a republican dialogue on issues of interest to Chile in the present global scenario. I value the former ministers' willingness to share their experience and knowledge in foreign policy”.
Meanwhile, Bachelet returned from Geneva, Switzerland, where she attended the Club de Madrid. She plans to meet her team for potential trips to UN Security Council veto powers—United States, France, United Kingdom, Russia, and China—before New York dialogues on April 20. She has spoken with Emmanuel Macron and Wang Yi, who called her a “friend” of Beijing. Other candidates are Rafael Grossi and Rebeca Grynspan.
