José Antonio Kast meets Delcy Rodríguez in New York

Chilean President José Antonio Kast held a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, in New York, according to the newspaper La Tercera, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The bilateral meeting, moved up to Wednesday from an originally scheduled Thursday slot, marks a new step in the rapprochement between the two governments following the diplomatic rupture during the term of Gabriel Boric.

During the meeting, according to the Chilean outlet, the two leaders discussed restoring consular and diplomatic relations, a measure driven by the need to address the situation of Venezuelan citizens in Chile who have been unable to regularize their identity documents. Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez explained that authorities are already working on processing the exequatur for the Chilean consul, although the government avoided setting a firm timetable for the full formalization of diplomatic ties.

On the regional stage, Kast avoided giving explicit political backing to Rodríguez and focused his position on supporting Venezuela's institutional recovery and the future restoration of democratic channels of participation. Likewise, the Venezuelan leader thanked Chile for the humanitarian assistance it provided in response to the emergencies caused by the double earthquake registered on June 24.