Chilean President Gabriel Borich became the first American leader to visit the South Pole after arriving at a US base there.
The president said his visit to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was confirmed Chile's own claims to sovereignty over part of Antarctica.
“This is a milestone for us,” Borich said in footage shown on Chilean television, before adding that it was “the first time a Chilean president has come to the South Pole and talked about Chile's Antarctic mission.”
Borich traveled with a group of scientists and several cabinet members, including the armed forces and environment ministers, his office said.
Borich said his visit underscored Chile's determination to play a key role in scientific projects in the region, especially those related to climate change.
In a statement, the government said that research centres, universities, diplomats and the armed forces have come together to ensure that Chile becomes the world's gateway to Antarctica.
The leftist president Gabriel Borich has won Chile's 2021 presidential election to become the country's youngest leader at 35 years old.
Only two other world leaders had visited the South Pole before Borich: the prime ministers of New Zealand and Norway.
Several countries, including Chile, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, laid claim to parts of Antarctica and many others are present there.
Antarctica is not a country: it has no government and no indigenous people. Instead, the entire continent is set aside as a scientific reserve.
The Antarctic Treatywhich came into force in 1961, enshrined an ideal of intellectual exchange.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is named after Roald Amundsen – the Norwegian explorer who led the first expedition to the South Pole – as well as Robert Scott, the British explorer whom Amundsen beat to the Pole in 1911.
Scott and four companions died on the way back from their trek after being caught in a blizzard.