• Chile’s Minister of Economy, Nicolás Grau, will lead InvestChile’s investment promotion efforts in the European country with more than 12 activities scheduled with business leaders, and will focus on promoting the National Lithium Strategy.

On Monday, Chile’s Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism, Nicolás Grau, together with InvestChile Director, Karla Flores, initiated an investment promotion tour in Germany, meeting with representatives of the country’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, which was led by its State Secretary, Franziska Brantner.

The meeting, which was carried out with the support of the Chilean Embassy to Germany, aims to promote new opportunities offered by Chile in sectors such as lithium, and will involve more than 12 activities including bilateral meetings with companies, interviews with local media outlets, and visits to business facilities related to lithium value addition, innovation, and industry. The minister also met with Michael Schmidt, senior geologist at the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), with whom he discussed technical aspects and Chile’s potential to develop lithium, a critical mineral for the energy transition.

“On the one hand, we are going to strongly promote Chile’s National Lithium Strategy, which has aroused a lot of interest and enthusiasm among various investors, and we’re also going to support the Ministry of Energy in promoting the green hydrogen strategy. Additionally, we will hold meetings with investors in Germany and France, and visit plants to find out more about their production and the new technologies that we want to promote in Chile,” said Minister Grau.

InvestChile’s Director, Karla Flores, highlighted that the agency is currently supporting 21 German business projects worth more than US$640 million. “Chile can be a strategic partner for German companies, thanks to the opportunities that it offers in sectors such as critical minerals and clean energy, which are key for decarbonization. We want European companies to play a major role in adding value and creating jobs in this industry,” she said.

Germany, a key country for investment promotion

It should be noted that Germany currently has a foreign direct investment stock of US$1.02 billion (2021) in Chile, participating in sectors including medications and pharmaceuticals, mining, global services, construction, commerce, and industry. Similarly, InvestChile is currently supporting 21 German business projects worth more than US$640 million.

Germany has been defined as a key country for attracting investment, and since the end of 2022 InvestChile has an investment commissioner based in Berlin, Vanessa Séverin, whose goal is to build bridges so that German companies can find out more about the investment opportunities offered by Chile and accelerate their decision to invest in the country.

The ministry’s activities in Germany will continue on Tuesday with a breakfast meeting with business leaders that was co-organized with the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry.