Falklands’ successful trade, energy and business mission to Chile
Friday, September 19th 2025 – 10:55 UTC
The visit, organized by FIDC, included meetings with local entrepreneurs and officials in Santiago and Punta Arenas
A Falkland Islands business delegation has just returned from a week in Chile, where they explored opportunities in sustainable energy, innovation and connections between the two countries.
The visit, organized by the Falkland Island Development Corporation (FIDC), included meetings with local entrepreneurs and officials in Santiago and Punta Arenas and saw the party bring home new business perspectives.
The reciprocal trip, from 30th August to 6th September, follows on the successful El Libero Chilean delegation visit to the Falklands in November 2024. The FIDC delegation’s visit was timed to coincide with Hyvolution Chile 2025, an internationally recognized expo focused on green hydrogen and renewable energy, which took place in Santiago from 2nd–4th September.
The event provided a platform to explore cutting-edge developments in sustainable energy, and highlight potential opportunities for collaboration in wind power and green energy production, sectors of growing interest to both the Falklands and Chile.
Statements from FIDC
FIDC Deputy Director General, Louise Ellis said that “on one hand the visit was a fact finding mission regarding renewal energy and different things we could potentially include in the future of the Islands, but aside from that the wider angle was actually reestablishing trade links between the Falklands and Chile”.
There is a significant interest in reciprocal products, sharing, whether that be like professional products or actually just “on the shelf articles”.
“We’re not saying the link with Montevideo isn’t any good and SAAS are not doing a good job, that’s not true at all, they are doing a fine job and it’s great, but further divesting out links to other countries, and our kind of links to the world is good”.
“I think it’s really important that we continue to be operating for business, regionally and more internationally”.
“It’s really important for the Falklands to be seen not just as a place of natural beauty, yes we have many different kinds of penguins, but we also have a great tourism industry and a great fishing industry, but it is actually a great place of opportunity and showing that on an international stage is really important, because then we can become more tangible”.
Activities in Santiago and Punta Arenas
Other activities in Santiago included:
– A meeting for lunch with the UK ambassador to Chile.
– A tour of the accelerator facilities from Start-Up by CORFO.
– Events hosted by El Libero and the Cámara Chileno Británica de Comercio (BritCham).
In Punta Arenas there was a reception with local political figures, a tour with HIF Global, as well as an opportunity to visit a local windfarm and discuss shipping and trade links.
The engagements both in Santiago and Punta Arenas offered invaluable insights into Chile’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and should foster direct connections between Falkland Islands businesses and Chilean counterparts.
Looking ahead
Zachary Franklin, Managing Director of FIDC, said that, “this visit represents another important step in deepening relationships between the Falkland Islands and Chile, with a shared focus on sustainable development, regional cooperation, and business innovation.“
A local news agency in Santiago made time for a brief interview with Ms Ellis looking for possible repercussions of the visit in Argentina.
The FIDC Deputy Director was quick in replying and highlighted that the “Falkland Islands and Chile maintain a long standing positive relation and a rich shared history”.
As to those close links, “the Falkland Islands are keen to investigate options for re-establishing or growing existing regular trade routes between the Islands and Chile, particularly out of Punta Arenas, but also extending to the North.”
Could there be a tourism agreement establishing a route between Punta Arenas, Port Williams, Antarctica, and the Falklands?
“The Falkland Islands are always keen to explore opportunities for the tourism sector and to build regional connections”.
We will soon be commemorating 150 years of diplomatic relations between Chile and the Falklands. What milestones will mark this date?
“The Falkland Islands and Chile have a long standing positive relationship and a rich shared history. I am personally not aware of what plans are in place to acknowledge this key milestone at this time. Arrangements such as this are coordinated by the public diplomacy department within our government”.
