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CIM ON SITE. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Becoming globally competitive
The context On the basis of a trade agreement signed in 2002, the EU is supporting Chile with its economic, social and cultural development.
Objective More intensive trade relations between Chile and the EU are to raise the competitiveness of Chilean companies and help them to tap new markets.
CIM assignment A CIM junior expert is working in field of trade relations between Chile and Germany on behalf of the Chilean non-governmental organisation Fundación EuroChile.
Chile, with 4,300 kilometres of Pacific coastline, was ruled by a military dictatorship for nearly 20 years. When democracy returned to the Andean country in 1990, the country’s political and to some extent also economic isolation finally came to an end. Today Chile maintains economic relations with many countries around the world. One of its most important trading partners is the European Union. Nearly a quarter of all foreign direct investment in Chile originates in Europe. The signing of a modern trade agreement between Chile and the EU at the end of 2002 paved the way for even more intensive cooperation. “The open window to Europe created new markets for Chilean companies,” says Maria-José Poddey, a CIM “young professional”. Cooperation between European and Chilean companies also enables technology and know-how transfer. Since 2004, the 33-year-old CIM expert has been supporting the well-known Chilean non-governmental organisation Fundación EuroChile, created jointly by the EU and the Chilean Government. Poddey’s main task has been to make Chilean companies in the environmental sector eligible for entrance into the European market. Part of this involves the planning of projects with Chilean and European partners, such as two recently organised corporate conferences. At the most recent IFAT environmental trade fair in Munich, for instance, 70 companies from both sides met; a similar conference in Santiago was also very well attended.
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