Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray is in Spain for a visit that began today and will end on Thursday, April 20. The visit marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Spain.
Secretary Videgaray and Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis Quecedo will co-chair the 12th meeting of the Mexico-Spain Binational Commission, the main institutional channel of communication that guides the bilateral relationship. The two officials will hear reports on political, economic and financial, judicial and consular affairs, and cultural, educational, scientific and technical cooperation.
The Secretaries of Labor, Alfonso Navarrete Prida, and Culture, María Cristina García Cepeda; ProMexico CEO Paulo Carreño King; and the Deputy Attorney General for International Affairs of the Attorney General’s Office, Alberto Elías Beltrán, will also participate on the commission, in addition to other Mexican officials.
During the commission’s 12th meeting, agreements to strengthen the bilateral legal framework in air transportation, cooperation between diplomatic academies, consumer protection, labor-related cooperation, and trade and investment will be signed.
While in Madrid, Secretary Videgaray will be received by King Felipe Felipe VI, and by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. He will also meet with the Minister of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Luis de Guindos Jurado, and with the Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan.
The Foreign Secretary will receive the keys to the building that will be the Casa de Mexico in Spain from Mayor Manuela Carmena. He will also host a breakfast organized by the Europa Press news agency, and meet with Spanish business executives to discuss the prospects and opportunities presented by the bilateral relationship and ways to continue to strengthen it.
Spain is Mexico’s second largest investor and its largest investor from the European Union. Between 1999 and 2016, Spain’s cumulative investment in Mexico exceeded USD 57 billion and was made by more than 5,000 businesses in the financial, information, media and manufacturing industries. In 2016, Spain was Mexico’s ninth-ranked trading partner in the world and the second largest amongst the EU countries, with trade totaling USD 7.736 billion.