Secretary of Economy Idelfonso Guajardo Villarreal spoke highly of the Vietnam-Mexico trade relations, which have witnessed growth of 10 – 15 percent annually over recent years.
Vietnam is now Mexico’s 8th largest trade partner in Asia-Pacific while Mexico is Vietnam’s 2nd largest trade partner in Latin America, he said, citing the Mexican Ministry of Economy’s statistics that showed the bilateral trade hit nearly US$ 5 billion last year. In the first quarter of 2018, the trade was estimated at roughly US$ 1 billion.
Idelfonso Guajardo also hailed Vietnam for its significant dedication to the conclusion of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and expressed his hope that Vietnam will soon ratify the treaty so that it will enter into force in early 2019 as expected, to further facilitate the cooperation in economics, trade and investment between the two sides.
Ambassador Duong, for his part, congratulated Mexico as the first member state to ratify the CPTPP.
The Vietnamese diplomat also expressed his thanks for the efforts of the secretary and the Mexican Ministry of Economy in fostering the bilateral trade and economic ties that are important to Vietnam’s international economic integration.
He expects the Ministry of Economy to support the Embassy of Vietnam in connecting enterprises from both countries, opening the local market for high-quality Vietnamese products and encouraging Mexican investors to do business in Vietnam, a market of more than 90 million people and a gateway to Southeast Asia, paving the way for greater connectivity between ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance that comprises of Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile.
