The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Chile, represented by Carlos Appelgren, ambassador to the EU, signed an agreement establishing the bases for the bank’s future activity in this country, on 9 March. Signature of the framework agreement is a prerequisite for its ratification by Chile’s congress. The association agreement, signed in 2002 by Chile and the EU, gives the EIB the possibility to engage in activity in the country in the framework of EU’s development cooperation policy. The EIB finances investments in Latin American and Asian countries under its current mandate for these regions (ALA IV), which covers the 2007-2013 period. This mandate authorises it to lend up to €3.8 billion to finance operations supporting the EU’s presence in these regions through direct investment and/or the transfer of technology and know-how, as well as climate change mitigation projects.