SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) – Chile pulled out of hosting two major international summits on Wednesday as it struggled to restore order after more than ten days of civil unrest that left at least 23 dead.
President Sebastian Pinera said “common sense” dictated the decision to withdraw from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the Cop 25 climate change conference.
US President Donald Trump had said he was planning to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to lock down a “phase one” agreement at the Nov. 16 to 17 APEC meeting that would partially have ended an 18-month trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
The White House said it looked forward to finalizing an agreement “within the same timeframe,” although analysts Eurasia Group said that may not happen until the end of the year.
APEC said it supported Chile’s decision but gave no indication there would be a replacement summit this year, saying only that Malaysia would host the 2020 event.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin had also been due to attend APEC, while teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 25,000 delegates expected for COP 25.
The final of South American football’s premier club competition, the Copa Libertadores, between Argentine holders River Plate and Brazilian giants Flamengo will go ahead on Nov. 23 in Santiago, Chile’s sports ministry said.
After more than 10 days of street protests, Pinera said Chile was not in a position to host either the APEC summit or the Dec. 2 to 13 climate convention.
The pullout is seen as a blow to Chile’s tourism industry, and the Santiago stock exchange dropped 2.8 points while the peso fell to its lowest rate against the dollar since 2003.
“This has been a very difficult decision, a decision that has been deeply painful because we know exactly how important APEC and COP are for Chile and the world,” said Pinera.
“When a father has problems, he must always prioritize his family over other options. The same goes for a president, he must always put his own compatriots first, ahead of any other considerations,” he added.
President Duterte was supposed to attend the summit.
However, Duterte’s attendance reached a point of uncertainty following the minor motorcycle accident he encountered early this month. The incident caused his muscle spasms which prompted him to cut short his trip to Tokyo, Japan for Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement last week.
Panelo had said that Duterte would first have to consult his doctor if he was fit to go to Chile following his accident. It turned out Duterte would not be going to Chile next month because of the cancellation of the summit. (With a report from Argyll Geducos)
