He firmly believes the key to Chile's future success centers around building ties with other countries through business.

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The building also houses the embassies of Sweden and Chile.

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His trip next week will be the first of three, building up to a pan-American summit in Santiago, Chile, next March.

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Mr Bush came to power last year a committed free-trader: he envisages the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, building on the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and stretching from Canada to Chile.

ECONOMIST: APEC, terrorism and trade