ASEAN members bolster trade with Mexican state

Representatives of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico attend the business forum (Photo: VNA)

The ASEAN Committee in Mexico, comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, joined hands with authorities of Mexico’s Yucatan state to arrange a business forum in Merida city on November 15.

Speaking at the event, which drew the participation of nearly 100 businesses, Yucatan state’s Secretary of Economic Development and Labour Ernesto Herrera Novelo said the forum is useful to promote trade between Yucatan and members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by providing information on the ASEAN market.

Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico - Indonesian Ambassador Cheppy Tri Prakoso Wartono underlined potential cooperation between Yucatan state and Mexico in general with ASEAN nations in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing industry, information technology, investment, education and tourism.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoai Duong described Mexico as a key market of ASEAN in Latin America. He added that with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam and Mexico are members of, ASEAN and Mexico’s trade will surge in the coming time.

Mexico is currently Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Latin America, while Vietnam is the eighth biggest Asian market of Mexico. Two-way trade revenue reached more than 3.73 billion USD in the first eight months of 2019.

At the event, officials and firms of Mexico’s Yucatan state discussed cooperation opportunities with ASEAN members to seek trade partners.

Earlier, Governor of Yucatan state Mauricio Vila Dosal hosted a reception for a delegation of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico, during which he highly valued potential for multifaceted cooperation with ASEAN, particularly in economy, trade and investment./.

VNA