ASEAN, Mexico seek stronger trade partnership

An online conference was held in Mexico City on April 7 to explore trade and investment cooperation between Mexico and ASEAN, drawing nearly 100 participants from Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoanh Nam speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoanh Nam speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the event, jointly held by the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE) and the ASEAN Committee in Mexico, Sergio Ley, Director of COMCE’s Department of Asia and Oceania said that ASEAN is an important trade partner of Mexico.

He said that his country wants to develop partnership with the association in all fields, especially trade and investment.

Representatives from the COMCE and Mexican businesses introduced the economic-trade development of Mexico as well as trade and investment cooperation opportunities for foreign investors, and cooperation prospect between Mexico and countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Southeast Asian region in particular.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoanh Nam highlighted Vietnam’s economic, trade and investment achievements in recent years. Last year, despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam was still among the few countries maintaining economic growth. The Southeast Asian nation achieved dual targets of controlling the pandemic and boosting economic growth at the same time.

The ambassador suggested that both sides increase the exchange of business delegations to explore each other market and build mechanisms to remove obstacles facing bilateral trade and bolster economic, trade and investment ties between Mexico and ASEAN and Vietnam in particular.

The diplomat called on ASEAN and Mexican firms to grasp opportunities from free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement.

Participants agreed to work more closely together in optimising initiatives and giving proposals to accelerate two-way trade and investment ties.

Mexican statistics showed that trade between Mexico and ASEAN in 2020 reached US$28 billion.