In a speech made on Wednesday in Madrid, the Chilean ambassador to Spain, Javier Velasco, noted that given the weakening of relations with Israel as a result of the conflict in Gaza, Chile could look to Spain for a new partner in the defense sector, words that generated harsh criticism from the Chilean Congress.
It is worth remembering that, in this context, From the Ministry of Defense it was reported last March that the government of President Gabriel Boric decided to exclude Israeli companies from the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) 2024.
“What is happening in Gaza is unacceptable and it would not seem prudent or coherent to me that Israeli companies come to expose weapons to Chile under these conditions,” President Boric then justified in statements to the press.
And in this sense, the Spanish newspaper The country highlighted Velasco’s words during an event on Brand Management in Complex Environments, held this Wednesday, June 12, in the Spanish capital.
On the subject, the ambassador maintained, according to the information, that corporate responsibility in the face of the geopolitical context is no longer something that companies can ignore: “We live in a delicate global situation, we are in the process of the so-called selective deglobalization, and it is increasingly important to quantify the reputational drive of the people in the market,” he said.
According to El País, at the meeting the Chilean ambassador recognized the importance of the Israeli industry in Chilean military spending, from which derives the need to find new partners.
Thus, the newspaper quotes Velasco at the meeting pointing out that “It has been very hard for us to have to ask a country to refrain from attending a fair where so many relationships are woven (…) It is also an opportunity for other partners: it was in that instance that ELS Industries, ITP and Indra sat down to think about what a future could be like where the Israeli sector could share space with other partners”indicated the Chilean ambassador.
Velasco’s words generated immediate criticism from the presidents of the Senate Defense committees, Pedro Araya (PPD), as the Chamber of Deputies, Francisco Undurraga (Evópoli).
“This is one more mistake by Ambassador Velasco that does nothing to help Chile’s image abroad. The acquisitions of war and multipurpose material needed by the Armed Forces. “They are defined according to the needs that are identified to respond to the Defense policy that our country has,” said Senator Araya, quoted by Ex-Ante.
“I think his statements are absolutely reckless and We are going to summon the Chancellor and the Minister of Defense so that they inform the Defense Commission about this situationbecause as far as we know, Chile is not looking for new suppliers to terminate or change the suppliers that have been awarded existing contracts in this matter.”
For his part, the deputy Francisco Undurraga He maintained that “an ambassador has nothing to do commenting on defense acquisitions. Clearly this was not discussed. Spain is a great strategic partner and an ally of ours, but the entire issue of National Defense is handled between the three branches of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense.”
“And purchases of Defense material are put out to tender, there are administrative procedures, we don’t come here to make offers. It is a state issue. The evaluations of the ambassadors are made by the President and the Foreign Ministry, but I am demanding respect for the order that we have given ourselves. “The purchases are due to a need for technical capacity, not due to a difficulty with a third-party supplier,” he concluded.
