Chile’s President Makes First State Visit to Bolivia in 71 Years as Region Shifts Right
Kast and Rodrigo Paz plan trade, security and mining talks as the neighbors seek to thaw ties and expand cooperation on their 535-mile border.
- On Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast arrived in Bolivia for the first state visit by a Chilean leader in 71 years, greeted by Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz with military honors at Plaza Murillo.
- Kast and Paz, both recently elected conservatives allied with President Donald Trump, seek to improve relations strained since Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile during the 19th War.
- The leaders discussed trade and security along their 861-kilometer border while both governments joined the Trump administration's "Shield of the Americas" coalition and signed mining and energy cooperation deals.
- Restoring full diplomatic ties was not on the agenda, though Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo said they must "create the conditions to work on this matter" regarding Bolivia's landlocked status.
- Paz offered Chile access to the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, which connects Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay to the Atlantic Ocean, as he faces domestic protests over fuel subsidy cuts.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The President arrived in La Paz to meet Rodrigo Paz and sign agreements in trade, mining, connectivity, energy and health. The day marks the first official visit of a Chilean president to the country in 71 years.
Paz receives Kast on the first state visit of a Chilean president to Bolivia in more than 70 years
The Washington Post
Chile's president makes first state visit to Bolivia in 71 years as region shifts right
The Toronto Star
My Mother LodeChile’s president makes first state visit to Bolivia in 71 years as region shifts right
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Chilean President José Antonio Kast arrived in neighboring Bolivia on Friday for the first state visit by a Chilean leader in more than seven decades, as a rightward realignment in South America reshapes long-standing rivalries.
The Head of State arrived at El Alto International Airport, La Paz, accompanied by ministers, Senator Manuel José Ossandón and the governors of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá and Antofagasta. The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast, landed at El Alto International Airport in Bolivia, beginning his first visit [...]
José Antonio Kast arrives in Bolivia on the first official visit of a Chilean President in 71 years.
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