Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray met today with the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, to thank him for the humanitarian aid provided by Italy after the September earthquakes in Mexico.

The two officials discussed the situation in Europe, North America and Latin America. Foreign Secretary Videgaray also thanked Italy for accompanying the process of updating the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, and for the trust placed by Italian investors in Mexico.

"Italy's support has been very important for Mexico during the current renegotiation of the agreement with the European Union. We hope to conclude the process by the end of the year, after which we know that our country will have better access to the European markets and that European businesses and investors will have better access to Mexican markets," said the Foreign Secretary.

Foreign Secretary Videgaray told the Italian Foreign Minister that the Mexican government would continue working together to strengthen the bilateral relationship.  "We want more Italian companies in Mexico and more Mexican companies to be successful in Italy.  We want to increase trade. We want more Mexican students to come to Italy and more Italians to study and do academic research in Mexico. There are many opportunities for cultural exchanges between our two countries that we want to take advantage of," he said.

The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the strong ties between Mexico and Italy and emphasized the excellent bilateral relationship: "Italy is a nation that we admire, that we are close to and respect greatly.  Our goal is to foster a deeper relationship. We have a significant number of companies investing in Mexico and our trade is also growing. This is a good moment for us."

The two officials co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Mexico-Italy Binational Commission, created in 1991 by the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between Mexico and Italy. The commission aims to find, propose, promote and follow up on bilateral initiatives.  The commission is composed of subcommittees on political affairs; legal affairs and security; economic and financial cooperation, and educational, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation. It meets every other year and involves various agencies from both nations.

The Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the shared values between the two countries and their firm commitment to democracy, human rights and free trade, in addition to their readiness to work together as partners in various multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the G20. They also renewed their commitment to more collaboration in law enforcement and the administration of justice.

They agreed on the importance of maintaining the upward trend in trade and investment. Italy's cumulative foreign direct investment in Mexico totals USD 2.164 billion from 1,998 companies. 

In technology and science, projects involving the exact sciences, biotechnology and medicine, information technologies, the environment and energy, climate change, agriculture and agri-food, aerospace technology and technologies applied to cultural goods were confirmed.

In education and cultural activities, they welcomed the results of university-level cooperation and agreed on expanding scholarships and new agreements between universities.

Several instruments were signed during the meeting that will help strengthen the bilateral legal framework between institutions:  the final act of the Binational Commission; a film co-production agreement; a Mexico-Italy executive program for scientific and technological cooperation; and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Jalisco Research Center in Technology and Design Assistance (CIATEJ) and the Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB) of Italy.

Prior to the commission meeting, the Foreign Secretary met with a business mission made up of 10 Mexican SMEs that supply the automotive sector.

Foreign Secretary Videgaray continues his European trip this Wednesday and Thursday, October 18-19, with a visit to the United Kingdom, where he will meet with Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade; and Andrew Parmley, Lord Mayor of London, among others.