Representing the President Enrique Peña Nieto, the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, attended the inauguration of Frédéric Garcia as President of the Executive Council of Global Enterprises (CEEG, by its initials in Spanish), for the period 2015-2017, replacing Pedro Padierna Bartning.

As outgoing president, Pedro Padierna thanked the Federal Government, and in particular the President Enrique Peña Nieto, for his willingness on working with the private sector and in the search for a Mexico more and more competitive.

He emphasized "how much you can do when we work together around a common commitment: making of Mexico a better place to invest and to live with the existing conditions for all to access for better opportunities".

Meanwhile, Frederic Garcia, incoming President of the Council, said that he will continue to promote the competitiveness of Mexico, focusing on the development of national suppliers for the value chains of global companies, and the implementation of structural reforms.

He stressed that "we have witnessed and supporters of the effort of the authorities and the Mexican society to build an institutional framework that meets the requirements of a modern democracy, an economic and productive social system that deserves a central place in the concert of all nations".

Finally, the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, stressed that there is a close cooperation with the business sector, to work on an agenda for Mexico; where today we see progress in the adoption and implementation of structural reforms; increased levels of Foreign Direct Investment; and a greater dynamism in foreign trade. He also endorsed the commitment to give continuity to these achievements and the conditions that make possible these good results.

He stressed that "through the efforts of global businessmen, today, new avenues in international markets are opened to boost the presence of Mexico and the Mexican products in other markets".

The Council consists of 42 global companies, leaders in investment and creation of jobs. Together, their productive activity generates more than 10% of Gross Domestic Product and over 11% of Mexico's exports go to the United States, our largest trading partner. This highlights, not only the importance of these companies in our country, but endorsing its role as an important pillar of our economy.

Frédéric Garcia is currently the Chairman of Airbus Mexico and Pedro Padierna Bartning is President and CEO of PEPSICO International Mexico.

The event was attended by Andrés Rozental, President of the Board of Directors of ArcelorMittal; Luiz Carlos Ferezin, CEO of Accenture; Manuel Bravo, President of Monsanto Commercial; Raúl Gallegos, CEO of GE International Mexico; Francisco Merino, Legal and Government Affairs Vice President of Pepsico International Mexico; Gerardo Gutiérrez Candiani, Business Coordinating Council (CCE, by its initials in Spanish); and Enrique de la Madrid, Director General of Bancomext. And CEOs and representatives of 42 companies that make up the Executive Council, among others.