The president said his visit to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station reaffirmed Chile’s own claim to sovereignty over part of the Antarctic.

“This is a milestone for us,” Boric said in footage shown on Chilean television, before adding “it’s the first time a Chilean president has come to the South Pole and talked about Chile’s Antarctic mission”.

Boric travelled with a group of scientists and several cabinet members, including ministers for the armed forces and the environment, his office said.

Boric said his visit underlined Chile’s determination to play a key role in scientific projects in the area, especially those involving climate change.

In a statement, the government said research centres, universities, diplomats and the armed forces had united to ensure that Chile becomes the world’s gateway to the Antarctic.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric won Chile’s presidential election in 2021 to become the country’s youngest ever leader, at 35 years of age.

Only two other world leaders had visited the South Pole before Boric: the prime ministers of New Zealand and Norway.

Several countries, including Chile, the UK, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, have laid claim to parts of Antarctica and many more have a presence there.

Antarctica is not a country: it has no government and no indigenous population. Instead, the entire continent is set aside as a scientific preserve.

The Antarctic Treaty, which came into force in 1961, enshrines 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 – and also Robert Scott, the UK explorer whom Amundsen beat to the pole in 1911.

Scott and four companions died on the return leg of their trek after being caught in a blizzard.