Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Official Visit to Mexico

yucatantimes.com

Mexico and Turkey plan to consolidate a free trade agreement this year and reach a bilateral exchange of $5 billion annually in the following years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto offered a joint message Thursday saying their countries are greatly interested in strengthening bilateral ties to bring prosperity to their respective nations.

As part of the 2015 bilateral agenda, Turkey and Mexico will establish a binational high-level commission and Mexico will set up an exhibition about Maya culture in Ankara.

The bilateral commission will follow up on developmental and economic growth projects in order to ensure the population of the countries benefit, Peña Nieto said.

The presidents signed a Mexico-Turkey joint declaration. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary José Antonio Meade Kuribreña acted as witnesses.

President Enrique Peña Nieto (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Mexico City Thursday. (PHOTO: NOTIMEX)

Turkey and Mexico are aiming to increase bilateral trade to $5 billion annually in the future. This is a viable goal, considering that 12 years ago bilateral trade barely reached $1.2 million, but it’s now $1.5 billion annually, Erdogan said.

Erdogan and Peña Nieto signed a memorandum of understanding on archaeology, anthropology and the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Sharing the countries’ experiences in tourism is important, as Mexico and Turkey are popular world tourist destinations, Peña Nieto said.
 

Erdogan told Peña Nieto that Turkey and Mexico should eliminate tourist visa requirements in order to increase the flow of tourists between the two countries.

The nations should explore the possibility of opening a direct commercial flight route from Turkey to Mexico, via Havana, Cuba.

Turkey plans to discuss signing a free-trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance, as well as signing a free-trade agreement with Mexico, Erdogan said.

Source: http://thenews.mx/

UK to increase bilateral trade

thenews.mx

Deputy Prime Minister of the U.K., Nick Clegg, says the Mexico, U.K. ‘Dual Year’ will help improve investments. NOTIMEX PHOTO/GUSTAVO DURÁN

 

THE NEWS

The “Dual Year” of Mexico and the U.K. will spearhead the drive to increase the value of bilateral trade between the two countries to £4.2 billion ($6.3 billion) annually by the end of 2015.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the U.K., Nick Clegg, said the trade objective was established three years ago, and that the combined celebrations of the “Year of Mexico in the U.K.” and the “Year of the U.K. in Mexico” will help realize this goal.

U.K. ambassador to Mexico, Duncan Taylor, said the exchange of trade will be primarily based on machinery, pharmaceuticals and raw materials, which will be necessary for British business operations in the country.

In this celebration, trade and investment will be stimulated and will generate more interest in the products and services of both countries, he said.

This will contribute not only to the growth of the domestic economy, but also help to improve the shared goals of increased international trade.

Potential business opportunities will be a focal point in the upcoming state visit of President Enrique Peña Nieto to the U.K. in early March.

A series of meetings will be held with a select group of business leaders to discuss how to maximize business opportunities between the two countries.

In addition, a “Day of Mexico” will be held during the visit to Mansion House in the City of London, which will focus on promoting business opportunities between the two countries, he said.

Duncan Taylor acknowledged that trade between Mexico and the U.K. at present is only “modest,” which has led the two countries to agree that they are not taking full advantage of their trade potential.

Furthermore, he said, given that the U.K. is ranked as the world’s sixth largest economy, and Mexico between 13th and 14th, the two represent the world’s largest and most powerful countries.
Given the recent structural reforms and the unrealized potential of both economies, he said, British firms see huge opportunities in the Mexican energy and manufacturing sectors.

Another point to consider is that Britain receives more foreign direct investment than Italy, Germany and France combined, and makes up 40 percent of all foreign direct investment in Europe, he said.

Thus, the U.K. should be seen as one of the first countries to attract investment, with an opportunity for Mexican companies such as Cemex, Gruma and Fresnillo, he said. Duncan Taylor added that for reasons of language, family and history, Spain is often seen as the first market in Europe for Mexican business, but the U.K. can also represent a great opportunity in the context of the dual year.

Mexico and Iran Agree to Strengthen Bilateral Trade

TelesurTV.net
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September 16, 2014

As part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Iran, Carlos de Icaza, Mexico's Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs visited Iranian Chancellor Mohammad Javad Zarif. The two diplomats agreed on the need to strengthen their relationship in areas including education and trade.

Tehran, Iran - Mexico and Iran have agreed to strengthen their relationship in various areas including education and trade.

As part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Iran, a delegation of government officials from Mexico, headed by Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, ambassador Carlos de Icaza, paid a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Icaza met last Saturday with the Iranian Chancellor, Mohammad Javad Zarif, according to the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

"We consider Iran one of the most important actors in the Middle East and that is why we want to maintain constant meetings with Persian authorities," said Icaza after meeting with Zarif.

During the encounter, Chancellor Zarif outlined the trade opportunities that Iran could provide to Mexico.

"Mexico and other countries can take part in trade exchanges with central Asian countries through Iran. Chabahar port provides access to Afghanistan and central Asia," said Zarif.

In 2012, bilateral trade between both countries was worth $133 million, the highest ever registered; however, last year if fell to $20 million.

Representatives of Mexican private companies also travelled to Tehran to meet with Iranian businessmen.

Original Story

Taiwan seeking closer relations

Tuesday, 15 April 2014 01:10

thenews.com.mx

Nation seeks to boost economic ties with Mexico

BY THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

The News

Although Taiwan and Mexico do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, combined bilateral trade between the two countries amounts to nearly $7 billion annually, and accumulated Taiwanese investment here amounts to $600 million. (Mainland China has only $281 million in investment holdings in Mexico.)

“There is no reason why our political relations with Mexico should influence our two-way commercial and economic ties,” Carlos S. C. Liao, head of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Mexico, told The News executive director Alejandro Maccise during a visit Monday to the Colonia Lomas de Chapultepec installations of Grupo Mac Multimedia, the newspaper’s parent company.

“The Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office has been operating here for nearly 21 years and there are more than 300 Taiwanese companies with factories or representative offices here, providing jobs to more than 50,000 Mexican workers.”

In fact, according to Mexican government statistics, Taiwan is Mexico’s ninth-largest trade partner worldwide and its seventh-largest provider of imported goods and services. But because the Mexican government has maintained a steadfast one-China policy since the mid-1970s, Taiwan does not have an embassy in Mexico and two-way diplomatic relations do not exist.

“We are not giving up hope that Mexico will consider improving our binational political ties in the future, but for now, we want to get the message across that Taiwan is ready and eager to increase trade and investment relations,” Liao told Maccise and a group of Grupo Mac’s editorial staff.

Liao also noted that historically tense cross-Straits relations have, over the last six years, improved dramatically as the result of an avid rapprochement policy stewarded by Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May 2008.

Earlier this year, China and Taiwan held their highest-level official talks since the two rival nations split at the end of a brutal civil war in 1949, in an effort to improve people-to-people relations and economic links.

Notwithstanding, the mainland Chinese Communist Party still considers Taiwan a renegade province and has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its wing after taking control of the mainland in 1949.

Currently, China has at least 1,600 ballistic missiles pointed at Taiwan, and Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense says the mainland nation will have sufficient military capability to mount a full cross-Strait attack by the year 2020.

Business exchanges resumed in the late 1980s, and in the early 1990s, the two sides began to engage with each other through the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

“In these last six years, Taiwan and China have signed 19 bilateral accords, including an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (in 2010),” Liao said.

“Now, Mexican entrepreneurs should understand that bilateral trade and investment projects with Mexico can be a win-win opportunity for Mexico, Taiwan and China to do business.”

Liao went on to say that while Mexican businessmen have long tried – for the most part, with little avail – to break into the Chinese marketplace, Taiwan today can serve as a “springboard” into the mainland dragon’s massive economy.

The Taiwanese official also pointed out that Taiwan has a long-standing vested interest in Mexico, providing academic scholarships to nearly 200 Mexican graduate and Mandarin-language students each year.

He said Taiwan has helped Mexico through technological cooperation, donating six digital learning centers which have so far trained 11,000 technicians. Also, Taiwanese universities have signed seven reciprocity agreements with Mexican counterparts.

Liao said that his government is very interested in joining the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“In the near future, Taiwan would like to form a part of that pact, with the endorsement of Mexico and the United States,” Liao said.

The Republic of China was founded after the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. When years of Japanese occupation ended after World War II, civil war broke out between nationalists and communists.

In 1949, nationalist troops fled to the island of Taiwan.

Since then, the Taiwanese people have considered themselves an independent nation, although their sovereignty is sorely contested by China.

The Mexican government does not recognize Taiwan diplomatically because of a one-China policy.

Mexico and Argentina Agree to Boost Trade

globalpost.com


MEXICO CITY – Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo and Argentine Industry Ministry Debora Giorgi have agreed to promote bilateral trade, especially in the automotive industry, officials said.

The agreement was reached during the visit that an Argentine delegation made to Mexico City last Thursday and Friday, the Economy Secretariat said in a statement.

Guajardo and Giorgi focused on examining ways to boost bilateral trade and investment, the secretariat said.

“Both officials said they were extremely willing to explore all options for expanding trade in both directions,” the secretariat said.

The officials discussed the automotive industry, in which trade is regulated by Economic Complementation Agreement, or ACE, 55, under the Latin American Integration Association, or ALADI.

Guajardo and Giorgi made a commitment to “improve efforts to move the integration process forward in both industries, especially in the auto parts sector, promoting mutual investment in said sector,” the secretariat said.

Mexico and Argentina reached a trade agreement covering the automotive industry in 2012 that allowed them to resolve differences over quotas.

Automotive industry representatives were present at the meeting between Guajardo and Giorgi.