Export Development Canada (EDC) has established a permanent representation in Santiago, Chile.

The office will be headed by Christian Daroch, who will be based at the Canadian Embassy. Daroch has more than 12 years of relevant Chilean and international experience across many industries, in various corporate finance, business development and project finance roles. He will report to Claudio Escobar, EDC's vice-president for Brazil and the southern cone.   

The opening of the representation is timed to exploit the Canada-Chile free trade agreement and capitalise on Canada's status as the third largest investor in the South American country.

There has been an upsurge in bilateral trade between the two countries with volumes reaching US$2.45bn in 2007. EDC facilitated approximately US$835mn in Canadian trade and investment in Chile in 2007, providing financial solutions for 236 Chilean firms.

"The opening of our permanent representation in Santiago comes at an opportune time, just as leads to greater cooperation in such areas as energy, environment, mining, pulp and paper and financial services. EDC's new permanent representation will enable us to enhance our relationships with companies in the region and to promote Canadian expertise and suppliers,” comments Eric Siegel, president and CEO of EDC.