Abinader congratulates Kast and agrees to strengthen cooperation between DR and Chile

Santo Domingo.- Dominican President Luis Abinader revealed that he spoke this Tuesday with the Chilean president-elect, José Antonio Kast, whom he congratulated on his victory and with whom he agreed to "strengthen" cooperation and dialogue between both countries.

"Today I spoke by phone with the president-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast", said the ruler on his X account. The far-right Kast won the Chilean presidential elections in December, defeating the leftist Jeannette Jara by a wide margin.

"I congratulated him on his victory and reaffirmed our willingness to strengthen cooperation and dialogue between Chile and the Dominican Republic for the benefit of our peoples," Abinader specified.

Kast, who campaigned in favor of the continuity of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) in the 1988 plebiscite, is the first Pinochet supporter to reach the Presidency.

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The president-elect of Chile is a staunch Catholic opponent of abortion, divorce, and same-sex marriage. The trade balance strongly favors the South American country, since, according to official data, Chile exported $16.3 million to the Dominican Republic and only imported $375,000 from that nation in 2025. The Institute of Dominicans Abroad (Index) recently stated that the Dominican community in Chile is around 23,000 people, the majority located in the capital. Formal diplomatic relations between Chile and the Dominican Republic were established in 1938, when the Caribbean country was governed by the dictator Rafael Trujillo.