The United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Sarah Rogers, attended this Wednesday the delivery of the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) from the Department of State, which took place at San Cristóbal hill, and will be destined for the restoration of the Foster Observatory, located at the top of the Santiago hill.
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Rogers, who is in Chile in the context of her participation as a speaker at the fifth edition of the Madrid Forum, stated that her priority at the meeting of international right-wing leaders will be to collaborate with President José Antonio Kast and his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, in what she called the “U.S. priorities for the Western Hemisphere.”
“In particular, to promote secure, strong, and prosperous partners in our hemisphere on issues such as narco-terrorism, migration, and more,” she said.
Additionally, Rogers referred to the diplomatic impasse over the sovereignty of the Strait of Magellan between Chile and Argentina, and how Donald Trump’s hint of support for the United Kingdom regarding the administration of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands might be under review.
On this, the undersecretary said that “I will not add anything more nor modify anything that our president has said. I will only refer to his statements, but Chile and Argentina are two great friends of ours.”
Finally, questioned about the statements of the MAGA leader, the official said that “a great quality of President Trump is that he speaks frankly and sincerely, and with him you always know where you stand. There are no secrets.”
On the occasion, the U.S. official – together with U.S. Ambassador Brandon Judd and the rector of the Pontifical Catholic University, Juan Carlos de la Llera – officially delivered 185 thousand dollars for the restoration and conservation of the Foster Observatory, built in 1903 and a National Monument since 2010.
The astronomical center was conceived as a twin telescope of the James Lick, located on Mount Hamilton, California. Under the direction of the latter, the Metropolitan Park observatory produced more than 10,700 spectrograms of the Milky Way in its first 25 years of existence.
Later, in 1928 it was purchased by lawyer Manuel Foster Recabarren, who donated it to the Pontifical Catholic University, the institution that has managed it since then.
Although initially Chile would not apply for the AFCP fund delivery, on the occasion of the celebration of the 250 years of independence of the United States, the Department of State expanded the eligibility criteria, to include projects – according to the embassy – that “highlight the global contributions of the United States throughout history”.
The fund will be used for the restoration of the observatory dome along with the conservation of the telescope, which is over a century old. Additionally, it will include the preparation of scientific outreach material.
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