Chile recognizes Palestine as "a free, independent and sovereign state," Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno said Friday, dpa reported.
"Chile has permanently and consistently supported the right of the Palestinian people to constitute themselves as an independent state, in peaceful coexistence with the state of Israel," Moreno said.
Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia have moved in recent weeks to recognize Palestine within its borders prior to 1967. The United States and Israel slammed these decisions as counterproductive and damaging.
Venezuela also recognizes Palestine as a sovereign state, and Uruguay has announced plans to do so next year.
Legislators from ruling and opposition parties had stepped up pressure on the government of President Sebastian Pinera to grant the same recognition to Palestine. Chile has a community of more than 300,000 Palestinian immigrants and their descendents.
Moreno said that Pinera is to travel in March to the Middle East to express his support for peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and to reinforce Chile's friendship and cooperation with both states.