The presence of President Michelle Bachelet in the Kumo Building in Seattle last week was of particular importance. As part of her activities in Washington State, she met with Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), who not only heads the world’s leading company in cloud computing technology but is also recognized as one of the most important executives in technological innovation and a key figure in cloud development and, in 2016, was chosen as Person of the Year by the Financial Times newspaper.

As well as touring AWS’s modern offices, President Bachelet also had an opportunity to talk with Jassy and his team. In the meeting, she was accompanied by Minister of Economy, Economic Development and Tourism Luis Felipe Céspedes, Chile’s Ambassador to the United States Juan Gabriel Valdés, InvestChile Director Carlos Álvarez and the Director General of International Economic Relations Paulina Nazal. The aim of the meeting was to deepen the collaboration between AWS and the Chilean government which began this year and seeks to promote innovation through educational and training programs, support for the development of cloud-based businesses – particularly start-ups and service exporters – and cooperation in modernization of administration of the state.

At the meeting, agreement was reached on specific steps to implement the agreement. These will imply benefits for entrepreneurs in Chile as well as for those who work in technological education and research.

Agreement with the government

In March, AWS signed an agreement with the Chilean government, represented by the Finance Ministry, which includes undertakings in the following fields:

• Development of capabilities for working in the cloud. A range of educational, training and certification programs will be developed to accelerate learning related to the cloud and its associated workforce.
• Support for companies that want to base their businesses in the cloud. The agreement envisages the launch of a personalized program of services and support for Chilean companies that want to accelerate their adoption of the cloud, thereby making them more competitive. Special emphasis will be placed on start-ups and service exporters.
• Digital government. Support will be provided to the government for its process of modernization, sharing best practices on matters such as open data, security and public procurement.

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