President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel and his wife Eva Pavlová arrived in the Republic of Chile on an official visit on Wednesday, 15 April, travelling there from Argentina. On Thursday, the presidential couple was received by President José Antonio Kast at the presidential palace in Santiago. It was one of his first foreign visits since taking office.

In the Chilean capital, the President visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, opened a business forum and delivered a lecture at the University of Chile.

On Friday, 17 April, the presidential couple travelled to Antofagasta and subsequently visited the Paranal and Cerro Armazones observatories, where the world’s largest telescope is currently under construction. Since 2007, the Czech Republic has been one of the 16 member states of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which operates the Chajnantor, La Silla and Paranal observatories. Czech astronomers use these facilities for both domestic and international research and also contribute to their technological development.

The purpose of the visit to Chile was to further strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the areas of security, the economy and scientific cooperation. A concrete outcome of the visit was the signing of two memoranda of understanding in the fields of space technologies and Antarctic research. Chile has long been a key partner of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme, providing logistical support and the necessary facilities for Czech scientists working at the Johann Gregor Mendel Scientific Station operated by Masaryk University.

Photogallery available here.