Guess what's common between India and Chile? Well, women power. Both the countries have a fair sex leader as the head of state.
So, when India's first woman President Pratibha Patil met her Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet in Santiago, she wasted no time in showering accolades on the South American nation's maiden woman leader.
Patil, who is currently on a tour of Latin American nations, arrived in the Chilean capital yesterday on the third and final leg of her journey after successful visits to Brazil and Mexico.
"I met a warm person and a close friend. I availed of the opportunity to compliment Bachelet on the distinction of being the first executive woman President of this great country.
"Her commitment to democracy and social justice stands out. I have conveyed an invitation for her to visit India and I am very pleased that she has accepted," a smiling Patil said after meeting the socialist leader on Monday.
Both Presidents also posed for photographs as they hugged each other in the Chilean Presidential Palace.
Later, the two leaders discussed the issue of women empowerment and women affairs during which Patil was informed by Bachelet, a single parent, that one-third of the Chilean house-hold were headed by women.
However, both agreed that men also needed to play an active part in the uplift of society as the Indian President described men and women as 'wheels of two chariots' which needed to get along together.
"It was a magical chemistry between the two. A special human touch was quite visible. It's the most striking feature during the meeting," Patil's Secretary Christy Fernandez told visiting delegation of Indian media persons.
The Indian President also suggested Ayurveda pill as means of alternate medicine to President Bachelet, who is a paediatrician by profession.
Ahead of her ceremonial visit, Patil visited Plaza de La India, a place which houses the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore. She had announced a maintenance amount for upkeep of the park.
Paying homage to the three leaders, whose statues were installed by Indira Gandhi in 1968, the President said it was an right 'beginning to her visit to Chile'.
"Their values of truth and non-violence, democracy and humaneness bind us. My visit is intended to demonstrate the importance that India accords to improving and strengthening bilateral ties," she said.
