Chilean diplomat Hernán Brantes Glavic presented copies of his credentials to Paraguay's Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano last Thursday as the new ambassador of Chile to the country. During the meeting, the authorities discussed items on the bilateral agenda and matters of common interest between the two nations.
Brantes Glavic is a career diplomat with more than four decades of experience in the Chilean foreign service. Over the course of his career, he has represented Chile as ambassador to South Korea and Kenya, while also serving concurrently as ambassador to Mongolia and permanent representative to the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi. He has also served as director of consular services at the Chilean foreign ministry and as consul general in Milan, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, and Hong Kong, with concurrent accreditation in Macau.
The next protocol step will be the presentation of the original letters of credence to President Santiago Peña, in a ceremony at the Palacio de López, at which point the diplomat will be formally authorized to serve as head of the Chilean diplomatic mission in Paraguay.
Before taking up the post in Asunción, Brantes Glavic was part of the international advisory team of then-presidential candidate José Antonio Kast during the election campaign. The new ambassador is the son of Hernán Brantes Martínez, a military officer and politician who served as de facto intendant of Colchagua Province after the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet in 1973. At that time, Brantes Glavic was studying civil construction at the University of Santiago, graduating in 1976, and two years later completed his studies at the Chilean Diplomatic Academy.
The arrival of the new representative comes at a time of close relations between Paraguay and Chile. The trans-Andean country is one of the main destinations for Paraguayan exports, especially beef — according to Senacsa data, Chile led the list of top buyers through April, accounting for 34% of the total, equivalent to 30,001,797 kilograms valued at US$205 million. In addition to meat, Paraguay exports manufactured goods to Chile and imports a range of consumer products from its neighbor, including wines of recognized international quality. Chile is also considered a strategic ally for Paraguay's access to the Pacific Ocean and Asian markets.