Asia-Pacific Project shared with rest of South America

The Asia-Pacific Project’s seminar for government officials from Argentina, Peru and Bolivia is a prime example of the Library of Congress’ two-fold mission: to provide services to the legislature as well as the general public.

The Asia-Pacific Project’s Asia Pacific-Chile portal is a major part of the project’s mission to provide relative information on Asia to Chileans. The portal also has columns by area experts in their given fields of expertise.    The Vive Asia Blog is a real-world look at Asia by people who have often experienced it first-hand, or who simply wish to share their impressions from this side of the Pacific.    The project also generates events and activities of its own, such as the recently held Korean Education Seminar, which included the participation of three experts from this Asian country.   

The Project informed the visiting South American officials that it had recently provided background material to the Chilean presidential mission which visited China. This information addressed current political, economic and cultural issues in China.  The Library also provided this type of information to members of Congress who met with India’s delegation during the visit of that nation’s president to Chile. The presentation also highlighted the fact that the Project advises the Legislature on any issues within the Asian purview.

Attendees compared their experiences in legislative and public advising. They also expressed their satisfaction with the current level of expertise and modernity of the Library and its staff, and had a good impression of the Asia-Pacific Project.   

The Argentinean delegation included Gonzalo Santamarina, Lead Adviser, Foreign Relations Committee, Chamber of Deputies; Valeria Ton, Secretary, from the Senate’s Joint Chile-Argentina Committee; Veronica Trevesse, Senator Rubén Giustinianni’s Chief of Staff.

Peru’s delegation included Hugo Rivera, Director of Citizen Participation in Congress and a former president of congress, and Roberto Tarazona, Technical Secretary of the Foreign Relations Committee of Congress.

The Bolivian delegation included Marcos Morales, Secretary, Congressional International Policy Committee (Chamber of Deputies), and Adriana Aguirre, Technical Secretary of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.