·      AMEXCID completed the process of creating policy instruments for international cooperation and broadened the scope of Mexico’s aid to Latin America.

·      The National Crusade Against Hunger was internationalized and Mexico worked with FAO to improve food security and nutrition.

Since the start of the current administration, the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), a decentralized body of the Foreign Ministry, has focused on institution building and creating channels for Mexico’s international cooperation and promotion.

In 2015, it completed the process of creating the main legal instruments of its global development cooperation policy, which are included in the Law on International Development Cooperation (LIDC). Mexico is now positioned as a leader in the negotiations on international cooperation and development financing, and as a country with a modern and inclusive foreign policy.

According to the AMEXCID annual report, Mexico is a global actor that participates in various global forums and an active member of the international community. It understands that—in order to develop domestically and improve the welfare of its society—it must build and strengthen its relations with the world.  

Mexico’s position on development cooperation had a special impact on the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa. The Action Agenda aims to further strengthen the means of implementation for the 2030 Development Agenda and achieve the sustainable development goals.

AMEXCID made use of the regional arrangements in Latin America to expand the reach of Mexican collaboration, make it less fragmented and facilitate learning and the exchange of practices between regional development and coordination mechanisms, an innovation in South-South cooperation.

The 15th Tuxtla Summit, one of the main achievements of Mexican cooperation in the region, was held this year. The “Mesoamerica without Hunger” initiative was launched at the summit as the ninth line of action of the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project. This internationalized the National Crusade Against Hunger and Mexico’s collaboration with FAO in order to improve food and nutritional security in the region.

Health: This year, for the first time, Master Health Plans were agreed on that establish specific regional priorities and actions for addressing common challenges, giving substance to and making operational the Mesoamerican Public Health System.

Environment: The virtual center of excellence for Mesoamerican forest monitoring was launched as part of the program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Mexico and South-South cooperation was promoted with the Norwegian government and the UN-REDD Programme.

Energy and telecommunications: This year saw the launch of the Mesoamerican Information Highway, a 1,800 km fiber optic network installed on the infrastructure of the Central American Electric Interconnection System (SIEPAC) in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The network will help bridge the digital divide and increase public access to the Internet.

Infrastructure: Progress was made in modernizing the International Network of Mesoamerican Highways (RICAM), a 13,132 km network of roads that includes the Mesoamerican Integration Corridor (Pacific Corridor). 95% of the goods traded in the region use this network.

Academic cooperation was strengthened, making Mexico a destination for training highly-skilled human resources. As part of the Pacific Alliance student mobility platform, 276 scholarships have been awarded. In 2014 and 2015, Mexico achieved the target of providing 100 scholarships annually. In addition, Mexico has awarded about 100 scholarships to Haitian students under the 300 Scholarships for Haiti program.

In 2015 (as of December 15), 35,141 students have taken part in academic exchange programs in the United States. Since 2014, over 65,000 Mexicans have benefitted from these programs. An important part of this is due to the SEP-SRE Proyecta 100,000 for training students and teachers in English as a second language.

Canada: More opportunities for training highly-skilled human capital were sought by optimizing the ties between academia and the industrial sector for economic development, which has expanded the possibilities for exchanges for Mexican graduate students to more Canadian universities.

Economic development: A Foreign Ministry/AMEXCID cooperation agreement was signed in 2015 to institutionalize cooperation between Mexico’s diplomatic offices abroad and the ProMexico offices.

In addition, in 2015, Mexico and the United Kingdom organized the "Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom" and "Year of the U.K. in Mexico" to raise awareness of the diversity of Mexico’s cultural heritage, its rich history and its traditions. The dynamic economic and trade relationship between the two countries and their privileged position for trade, investment and tourism was also highlighted.