SANTIAGO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will pay an official visit to the United States in June at the invitation of her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

    Bachelet told reporters on Wednesday that she will meet with Obama on June 23 in Washington during the visit.

    Bachelet said that the appointment of Chilean-American academic Arturo Valenzuela as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs by Obama was "good news."

    "I think it is an excellent appointment consistent with Obama's willingness to continue developing a close, objective and constructive relationship with Latin America and Chile," Bachelet said.

    Bachelet met with Obama in April as president of the Union of South American Nations during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.