Bachelet to Visit Argentina in March
Chilean President-elect Michelle Bachelet will travel to Argentina after her inauguration on March 11 to deal with bilateral relations and trade.

The Chilean president could arrive in Argentina between March 20 and 21, on "a visit of the highest level" to include talks with counterpart Nestor Kirchner and representatives of the Legislative and the Executive.

Government officials stated Bachelet is also likely to visit Brazil and Uruguay.

This will be the first time Bachelet meets with Kirchner as the president of Chile but they previously held talks in September 2005, when she attended an activity in Buenos Aires on the special invitation of Argentine First Lady Cristina Hernandez.

Her visit to Argentina ratifies endeavors to strengthen relations with the government of Kirchner and her willingness to forget past disputes to move toward a bilateral strategic partnership.

Before and after being elected, Michelle Bachelet pledged to correct diplomatic ties with Argentina, something for which the government of President Lagos was strongly criticized.