Santiago - Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad, presented his Letters of Credence to Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile during a formal ceremony at the Moneda Palace, on Tuesday in Santiago.

Samad is the first non-resident Afghan envoy to Chile after both governments exchanged notes two years ago agreeing to establish diplomatic relations. 

"I expressed to the President of the Republic of Chile our desire to see relations expand on several fronts with one of Latin America's most successful nations, and I also conveyed President Hamid Karzai's message of appreciation for Chile's active participation at the recent Paris Conference," said Ambassador Samad.

"In my meeting, which was also attended by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Alberto Van Klaveren, I provided an overview of the situation in Afghanistan. President Bachelet showed a keen interest in Afghan affairs as well as in ways Chile could help us in the reconstruction phase," he added.

"We discussed possibilities of holding high level talks in the future focusing on the agricultural and mining sectors, two areas of mutual interest. I also congratulated Her Excellency on Chile's impressive progress over the past two decades, following many years of hardship, and hoped that Chile could share some of its institutional and economic experiences with Afghans, especially with capacity building."

Afghanistan does not have a resident mission in Latin America, however relations with some of the countries of the region are handled on a non-resident basis from Washington and Ottawa.

July 22 , 2008