Minister van Klaveren participates in webinar on the BBNJ Agreement organized by the Wilson Center

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, participated in the opening of the webinar "The High Seas Treaty and Latin America's Role in Marine Conservation", organized by the Wilson Center Institute of the United States.

In his remarks, the Minister underscored the importance and role of Latin America in ocean protection, particularly the opportunities offered by the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ).

"The BBNJ agreement is a real demonstration that multilateralism can achieve important results. In this case, the agreement is the only effective instrument to date that allows us to use and protect, in a sustainable way, biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions," he said.

It should be noted that Chile is strongly committed to this issue, being the second country in the world to deposit the instrument of ratification at the United Nations. Chile has also proposed that the city of Valparaíso be the seat of the Secretariat of the treaty.

In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized the urgency for all countries involved to sign and ratify the agreement, noting that "our invitation is also to expand our knowledge of the high seas, and how the BBNJ Agreement, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, can help us to provide safe and sustainable governance for these vast areas, crucial for humanity".

The webinar featured presentations by the head of the Foreign Ministry's Environment, Climate Change and Oceans Division, Ambassador Julio Cordano, and the representative of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Mahlet Mesfin.