An exploratory mission of 14 information technology companies from the Baltic States visited Chile between April 8 and 10 to learn about the business opportunities it offers. Its activities, organized by Eurocámaras de Chile, EU-LAC and ELANBiz, included a series of meetings and a seminar with presentations by representatives of government institutions, including InvestChile, and members of the European delegation.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand out in the European Union for their ITC development, with high levels of digital literacy, internet in all homes and a penetration of mobile phones that reaches almost 150%. In addition, they have high levels of adoption of Web solutions and effective legislation that guarantees data security and fluid commercial operations, contributing directly to productivity and the countries’ economic growth.

Following a study carried out in 2017, the Foreign Ministries of the Baltic countries selected Chile, the region’s principal business hub, and Costa Rica, Central America’s leader on outsourcing, as priorities for the internationalization of their technology industries in Latin America.

During the seminar held in Santiago, Ambassador Stella Zervoudaki, head of the European Union delegation in Chile, noted that Chile is “a hub for the interlink sectors” and highlighted the opportunity to deepen digital cooperation in the framework of the update of the country’s Association Agreement with the European Union.

According to the director general of the Chilean Foreign Ministry’s Directorate of International Economic Relations (DIRECON), Rodrigo Yáñez, modernization of the Agreement “will be a priority for us and matters related to information and communications technologies will have an important place in our country’s trade agenda. This will allow Chile and the European Union to incorporate new elements into their commercial relations with twenty-first century standards. We hope to advance rapidly in the negotiations and achieve an agreement that is balanced and fruitful.”

Alain Kaczorowski, executive director of Eurocámaras de Chile, noted that “Chile is a fantastic laboratory for new technologies in which to get to know the market and then expand to the rest of Latin America.”

InvestChile’s investment promotion executive Salvatore Di Giovanni spoke about the main advantages of investing in Chile’s global services sector, highlighting the country’s infrastructure and human capital and initiatives like Visa Tech, which facilitates the process of obtaining work visas for specialized professionals and technicians.

After the seminar, the activities continued with business panels, working meetings and field visits. Between April 11 and 13, the mission will be in Costa Rica.