March 10, 2011 – Santiago – An AJC leadership delegation has concluded a three-day visit to Chile. The 18-member group, led by AJC Executive Director David Harris and coordinated by Dina Siegel Vann, Director of AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute, met with Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, as well as the Acting Foreign Minister, leaders of the Chilean Jewish Community, and the American, British and Israeli ambassadors. President Sebastian Piñera was abroad in Europe and the Middle East at the time of the AJC visit.

"We value our long-time relationship with Chile," said Harris. "We have visited the country on many occasions, admired the country's political, economic and social development, and welcomed its increasing role in global and hemispheric affairs."

The group discussed the president's ground-breaking visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority; the prospect of a Chilean-Israeli Free-Trade Agreement; the UN and the Middle East; the threat of Islamist extremism in South America; and U.S.-Chilean relations on the eve of President Obama's much-anticipated visit to Santiago.

"We were delighted, as always, to spend time with our partners in the Jewish community," said Harris. "We have worked closely with the leadership and applaud their courageous, principled, and effective advocacy on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people."

Chile is home to the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East, estimated at 3-400,000, while the Jewish population numbers about 20,000.

AJC has partnered with the Chilean Jewish Community to bring Chilean political, academic and media leaders to Israel, to combat anti-Semitism, and to provide humanitarian aid after last year's devastating earthquake in the southern part of the country.

AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute, founded in 2004, fosters closer ties among the U.S., Latin America, Israel, Jews and Latinos in the United States.