Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns will travel to Peru and Chile September 1-4, 2011. The purpose of his trip is to deepen relations with these key regional partners and to represent the United States at the tenth anniversary celebrations for the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Valparaiso, Chile.

In Peru, Deputy Secretary Burns will meet with President Humala and other senior government officials to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. He will also meet with political and civil society leaders, as well as English language scholarship recipients and Peruvian alumni of the Youth Ambassadors Program.

In Chile, Deputy Secretary Burns will participate in the “Hemispheric Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and Renewal of the Commitment of the Americas to Democracy,” organized by the Government of Chile and the Organization of American States. The Inter-American Democratic Charter was adopted at a meeting of the OAS General Assembly in Lima, Peru on September 11, 2001. He will also have bilateral meetings with the Chilean hosts, as well as with other delegations.