Summit of the Americas: What is the “turquoise diplomacy” that Gabriel Boric brought to Los Angeles?

The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, will make his debut in multilateral forums during the Summit of the Americas, where he intends to present its “turquoise” diplomacy.. The name it is given derives from the blue of the oceans and from the green of terrestrial biodiversity, in a marked accent from protect the ecosystem.

The Chilean president’s tour of North America began last Monday in Canada, where he met the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau. There, he explained the guidelines of his foreign policy approach, which seeks to extend the ocean protection policies promoted by Chile by Michelle Bachelet’s government.

This time, try to go further and export part of the retention policies which promoted and earned him an entire chapter of President Barack Obama’s documentary on environmental conservation, which premiered on Netflix two months ago.

In Canada, Boric called on Pacific coast countries to unite in ecosystem protection and indicated that “we provide the world with the leadership with which our countries have honored us to undertake a task that is difficult but urgentwhich is the defense of our oceans “.

“Protecting our ecosystems, protecting our oceans, having a new development model, and this is valid in both Canada and Chile,” he added. For his part, the Prime Minister of Canada said that “it is not possible to grow a resilient and strong economy in the 21st century unless you protect the environment at the same time”.

An ambitious environmental agenda

In the United States, Boric will propose an ambitious environmental agenda and will seek to promote a “Coalition of the Americas for the Protection of the Oceans”. He already has the support of the named Trudeau, with whom also went out for a few beers in a cafe in the city of Ottawa, like two employees just out of “work”.

The genesis of the concept of “turquoise diplomacy” is in the statements released in January by the new Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola. Since then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hasn’t stopped minting it.

However, in the academic field, the term was introduced by the political scientist, specializing in international relations and author of a book on the subject, Christopher Bywaterswho successfully persuaded Chilean politicians to push this agenda forward during the last decade.

Without going further, during the second term of Sebastián Piñera, the policies of conservation of the oceans and biodiversity remained unchanged.

“The concept comes from the book, but Chile’s initiative on ocean issues comes first, it’s not an original idea. Heraldo Muñoz, during Bachelet’s second government, was very important in positioning Chile in ocean care, “Bywaters told La Tercera newspaper.

“In a context in which the issue of the climate crisis was becoming more and more present, it emerged as a super interesting opportunity to find spaces for cooperation with other international actors, in an area that had not previously been paid much attention.

Foreign Minister Urrejola explained Boric’s foreign policy guidelines as “Turquoise and feminist”.

“We have 43% of our jurisdictional waters under protection and 22% on land. It is a commitment that we want to deepen, in line with the goal of protecting 30% of the oceans and the global land surface by 2030, which science asks us to guarantee tomorrow “, he said in a meeting with the International press in Chile, in which he participated Clarione.

The Foreign Minister also explained that Chile is promoting the development of a feminist foreign policy in which the gender approach is “intersectional” and the vision in favor of gender equality translates into concrete actions and realities.

“The development of a feminist foreign policy will be a pioneering element of our diplomacy, consistent with a commitment to human rights and the participation of women on an equal footing, free from violence and discrimination,” said the minister.

Santiago, Chile, special for Clarin

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