The China Mail - Bolivia, Chile move to restore ties severed 50 years ago

These two countries severed ties in 1975 after failing to reach agreement on a long-standing beef for landlocked Bolivia: access to the Pacific Ocean.

Bolivia used to have a coast but lost it in a war with Chile in the late 19th century. Regaining this access has been a key goal of Bolivia for decades.

Every year Bolivia celebrates a holiday called Dia del Mar, or Day of the Sea, to remember the loss of its 250-mile (400-km) stretch of coastline to Chile in the conflict known as the War of the Pacific.

On Thursday foreign ministers Francisco Perez Mackenna of Chile and Fernando Aramayo of Bolivia met at a border crossing and traveled together to La Paz.

Aramayo told reporters the meeting was "a fundamental milestone" on the road to restoring relations.

Ties between the two former enemies are warming now that center-right President Rodrigo Paz governs in Bolivia and far right President Jose Kast recently took power in Chile.

A key focus for Chile is to crack down on illegal immigration across its northern border with Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in South America. Chile is one of the most developed.

Kast, who took power March 11, ordered the digging of a three meter (10-foot) deep ditch along the frontier to make it harder for people to sneak into Chile. Bolivia has not publicly objected to this project.

C.Mak--ThChM