The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) and the Civil Aeronautical Board of Chile held air talks on 30 January 2013 in Santiago, Chile. The two parties reached consensus on the bilateral Air Services Agreement between Macao SAR and the Republic of Chile and initialed the text. Containing no limitations, the Agreement will create a fully liberal environment for the development of the air transport market between the two places. The meeting was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. Although both parties do not expect that direct flights between Macao and Chile will commence in the immediate future, considering that any designated airlines will be able to enjoy the liberal operation conditions once they are interested to operate the route between the two places in the future, the two delegations have adopted an open manner in their discussions and agreed that no limitations should be imposed. After the text has been finalized, the two sides initialed the Agreement, which allows the air services between the two places to be operated with fifth freedom and seventh freedom traffic rights and with no limitation on capacity, no limitation on the number of designated airlines and no limitation on the number of points to be served. Chile is the second country in South America after Brazil that has signed a bilateral air services agreement with Macao SAR. The country is now the fourth largest air transport market in South America. Its trade and commerce tides with the Asia and Pacific Regions are developing fast, especially those with mainland China. The President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong and the Secretary General of the Civil Aeronautical Board of Chile, Mr. Jaime Binder, were signatories of the Agreement on behalf of their government.
