- A Mexican delegation traveled to Europe to promote the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) and its connection with Europe via the Coatzacoalcos-Sines maritime corridor. In several meetings, the delegation stressed the importance of the CIIT and strengthened the interest of European institutions and investors in Mexico.
Federal and state government officials from Mexico traveled to Europe to present the CIIT to stakeholders and attract investment to the project and Mexico’s south-southeast region. The Mexican delegation was headed by Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs María Teresa Mercado Pérez and included the Economic Development Secretaries of Oaxaca, Raúl Ruiz Robles, and Veracruz, Enrique Nachón García; CIIT Executive Director of Foreign and Domestic Trade Alejandra García Velásquez, and Global Economic Promotion officials from the Foreign Ministry.
After its successful participation in Hannover Messe 2024, the Mexican delegation traveled to Brussels, where, together with Mexico’s ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU), Rogelio Granguillhome Morfin, they met with companies and European Commission officials interested in the CIIT project. They presented the opportunities offered by the CIIT and promoted the possibility of public-private investments and of obtaining resources through the Global Gateway initiative.
The delegation met with Felix Fernandez-Shaw, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and head of the Global Gateway initiative. The Coatzacoalcos-Sines (Portugal) maritime corridor, established in December 2023, is one of the Global Gateway’s priority projects and will be key to strengthening the production chains between the EU and Mexico as part of the CIIT project.
The Mexican delegation also toured the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the second largest in Europe, where they explored future collaboration opportunities with the port's director, Mario Lievens.
They visited the Brussels South Charleroi BioPark, where they agreed with CEO Dominique Demonté to work on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to exchange best practices in the development of scientific-industrial ecosystems as part of the CIIT's Development Poles for Wellbeing (PODEBIS).
The delegation ended its visit to Belgium by meeting with the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambers) and Flanders Investment and Trade, the economic and investment promotion agency of the Flanders region, one of the most dynamic and strategic in Europe.
In Portugal, the Economic Development Secretaries of Oaxaca and Veracruz visited the port of Sines, accompanied by Mexican Ambassador Bruno Figueroa Fischer and Global Economic Promotion officials from the Foreign Ministry to follow up on the establishment of the Coatzacoalcos-Sines maritime corridor and begin development of the protocol for the MoU signed last December.
A meeting on "Investment Opportunities in the South of Mexico" was held on the delegation’s second day in Lisbon. Secretaries Raúl Ruiz and Enrique Nachón presented the CIIT project and the investment opportunities offered by Oaxaca and Veracruz to the Portuguese business sector.
Also present at the event were Cristina Pucarinho, Executive Administrator of the Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP) and Pedro Arrais, Head of Investor Relations at Mota-Engil, who highlighted Mexico as the company's main market.
The delegation then visited the Mota-Engil group, where executives presented their strategies and projects for environmental sustainability and port operations, and the opportunities they offer for development of the CIIT project.
The tour concluded with a meeting with Nuno Sampaio, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss strengthening economic ties between Mexico and Portugal and exploring other areas of collaboration.
The meetings held by the Mexican delegation underscore the importance of the CIIT as an engine for regional development and its geostrategic position at a moment when Mexico is extremely attractive for foreign investment. The economic promotion missions not only build stronger bilateral relations, but also open new opportunities for future collaborations that will contribute to the continued development of historically vulnerable areas in our country.
