The foreign ministers of Bolivia and Chile have taken the most significant steps toward restoring full diplomatic relations since the two countries broke ties in 1978, agreeing to advance a broad bilateral agenda that includes trade, migration, and the possibility of a free trade agreement. After a two-day official visit to Bolivia by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna — which included meetings in La Paz and in the eastern city of Santa Cruz — both governments issued joint statements expressing clear political will to normalise relations that have been limited to general consulates for nearly five decades.
The rapprochement is driven by a direct "mandate" from both presidents: far-right José Antonio Kast, who took office in Chile on 11 March, and centre-right Rodrigo Paz, who has led Bolivia since last November. Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo described the visit as evidence of "the will we have at the highest level" to advance toward restored diplomatic ties, while Pérez Mackenna emphasised a constructive tone: "We have discovered great opportunities for the future, but we have also identified problems. We are going to solve them together, through dialogue." The two ministers met with nearly 70 business representatives at an event organised by Santa Cruz's main Chamber of Commerce, underscoring the economic dimension of the renewed relationship.
As concrete early steps, both governments signed an Air Services Agreement to improve bilateral connectivity and pledged to reconvene the Bolivia–Chile Political Consultation Mechanism, which last met in 2010. The cooperation agenda also covers the fight against transnational organised crime, migration coordination, and potential free trade negotiations. Bolivia has already expressed interest in hosting President Kast for a formal visit, which could consolidate this initial phase of rapprochement.
The historical backdrop is central to understanding why this shift is significant. Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), a loss that has defined bilateral relations — and Bolivian national identity — ever since. Formal ties were severed in 1978 after negotiations over a possible land corridor to the sea collapsed. In October 2018, the International Court of Justice ruled definitively that Chile bears no legal obligation to negotiate Bolivia's maritime claim, a decision that, paradoxically, helped remove the issue as a permanent blockade to other forms of engagement.
The rapprochement is not without complications. President Kast came to power partly on a pledge to curb irregular migration, and has ordered the military to construct a trench along the Chilean border with Bolivia — a measure to which La Paz has raised no formal objection. Nonetheless, both governments appear to have calculated that shared economic interests and ideological alignment offer a rare window to rebuild a relationship long defined by grievance and mistrust.