Bolivia, Chile Negotiate Over Silala River
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Bolivia, Chile Negotiate Over Silala River
La Paz - Bolivia and Chile have
finished drawing up an initial agreement on
the use and distribution of the water
resources in the bordering Silala river, Los
Tiempos newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The final document, whose content has not
been published, will be presented to top
authorities from both countries for its
consideration and approval.
According to Los Tiempos, which cited a
release by the Bolivian Foreign Affairs
Ministry, the initial agreement was reached
after a nine-hour meeting between Bolivian
Deputy Foreign Minister Hugo Fernandez and
Chilean Consul to Bolivia Roberto Ibarra.
According to La Paz, the Silala originates
in Bolivian territory and its waters are
diverted to Chile by a canal built under a
Bolivian concession to the
Antofagasta-Bolivian Railway Company, a
Chilean firm now known as Ferrocarril
Antofagasta-Bolivia.
The company obtained two water concessions:
the first in 1906, granted by the Chilean
government, and a second in 1908, from the
Bolivian authorities. Chile has been using
the river now in dispute for almost a
century.
The Chilean government affirms that the
Silala, located in southeastern Bolivia, is
an international river due to the route it
follows and, as such, its use is regulated
by international law.
Bolivia and Chile have been fighting another
political battle for a long time, stemming
from Bolivia's claim to a Pacific coast
access which La Paz lost in the war of 1879.
The two countries have had a rapprochement
under the governments of Evo Morales and
Michelle Bachelet, who have been working on
a 13-point bilateral agenda that includes
the Bolivian claim to a sea access.
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