Republic of Chile
Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Chile were established in 1935, and were severed twice in the periods 1943-1965 and 1973-1990. After the military coup in 1973, Bulgaria severed its diplomatic relations with Chile without denouncing signed bilateral documents.
Bulgaria's ambassador to Argentina is accredited in Chile.
Bulgaria has two honorary consular officers in Chile based in in Punta Arenas and Osorno. Chile also has an Honorary Consul in Bulgaria.
With the beginning of the democratic transition in the two countries, Bulgaria took steps to resume economic and political contacts with Chile and in 1990 an agreement was signed in Madrid to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries; furthermore, in October 1990, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations opened a Trade and Economic Office in Santiago. In 1994, the embassy was re-established. It was closed for financial reasons in 2012. There are traditions in the cooperation in the field of culture, science, education and sports. A number of Bulgarian exhibitions have been held Santiago and Punta Arenas. The South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad has signed contracts with three Chilean educational institutions. In 2015, a Chilean-Bulgarian Research Centre was established at the Centre for Research and University Development in Santiago. Antarctic cooperation based on a bilateral agreement in this area was also advocated. In 2012, ALDE MEP Prof. Vladko Panayotov won the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile’s highest order, given to foreigners for outstanding contributions to science, industry and the arts. The award was given for his many years of work in one of the largest copper extraction companies, where he has developed many new technologies of great importance for the economic development of Chile and for solving various environmental, social and technological problems in the country.
About 120 Bulgarian citizens live permanently in Chile. There are about 50 Chilean citizens in Bulgaria. In recent years, there has been a tendency of increasing the number of Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Chile.