SANTIAGO – The Commander of the Canadian Army, Lieutenant General Paul Wynnyk, traveled to Chile on Tuesday to meet with his counterpart, General Humberto Oviedo Arriagada of the Chilean Army.
This four-day visit, concluding on May 13, underscores Canada’s commitment to fostering relationships with western hemisphere partners and provides a valuable opportunity for both commanders to discuss bilateral training and cooperation.
“The Canadian Army continues to strengthen relationships with its key partners. This visit enables both the Canadian and Chilean armies to share lessons, build on our respective capabilities and keep working together to meet future challenges with success. I am honored to meet my counterpart and to speak with the Chilean Army leadership,” said the Canadian Commander Commander, in a statement.
During this engagement, Lt. Gen. Wynnyk will attend a conference at the Academia de Guerra del Ejército (the Chilean Army War Academy), as well as visit the Centro de Liderazgo del Ejército (the Chilean Army Leadership Centre) and the Escuela Militar (the Chilean Military Academy).
Chile is one of Canada’s closest defense partners in the hemisphere. The mutually-beneficial bilateral relationship is defined by cooperation through the Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP), a high tempo of military-to-military engagements, participation in multilateral exercises and operations, regular high level visits, as well as collaboration in hemispheric defense institutions.
The Canadian and Chilean Armies have trained together on various exercises and have participated in reciprocal unit exchanges. These experiences have provided each army with valuable opportunities to discuss best practices, explore different capabilities and share lessons learned.
Canada and Chile are members of the Conference of American Armies (CAA), an international military organization comprised and run by the Armies of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean with the authorization of their respective governments. The CAA supports two of the Canadian Armed Forces’ core roles: the defense of North America and contribute to international peace and security.
Canada also participates in exercises with Chile to counter terrorism and illicit trafficking, and to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
