The Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Carlos de Icaza, and Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) of India's Ministry of External Affairs, co-chaired the 7th Mexico-India Binational Commission and the fourth meeting for political consultations today in the Foreign Ministry.
The Binational Commission and the political consultations give continuity to the excellent bilateral dialogue and seek to increase trade and cooperation. Both countries are firmly committed to implemeonting the agreement reached between President Enrique Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's visit to Mexico in June, 2016 to enhance the 'Privileged Partnership' established in 2007 at a strategic level.
During the 7th Binational Commission, its subcommittee on economic cooperation and the working groups on energy and space cooperation met, and regularly-scheduled multilateral consultations on issues of common interest were established, to be co-chaired by the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas, and Secretary Saran.
In addition, Undersecretary de Icaza and Secretary (East) Saran co-chaired the fourth meeting for political consultations to review the bilateral agenda. They reaffirmed the importance of continuing the high-level visits and the interparliamentary dialogue in order to maintain the strong political ties. The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in their respective regions.
Mexico is India's biggest trading partner, the most important destination for Indian investments in Latin America and the biggest Latin American investor in India. More than a hundred companies with Indian capital are in Mexico, mostly in metals, information and communication technologies, and pharmaceuticals. Between 1999 and 2017, total Indian investment in Mexico was more than USD 100 million. India is Mexico's sixth largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 12th worldwide, with trade of more than USD 6.34 billion. India has held observer status in the Pacific Alliance since 2014.
