La Jornada: Mexico and the EU make progress in their trade agreement: chancellor

During his first working visit to the European Union, the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, had several meetings yesterday with representatives of that region in order to consolidate cooperation and ties with that community, as well as advance in updating the joint trade agreement.

Several European officials reported on the meetings they held with the new head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) in Brussels, Belgium, the political headquarters of the European Union.

With the representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice president of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, the Mexican chancellor discussed opportunities for closer bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as progress towards updating the EU-Mexico Modernized Global Agreement, which “will elevate our strategic partnership to the next level,” indicated the European official.

Velasco also met with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, who reported on social networks that they discussed strengthening cooperation between our country and that community, “especially in digital trade and critical raw materials.”

Another of the meetings of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs was with the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Maxime Prévot, with whom he spoke about the geopolitical situation in America.

“I shared our vision for Belgium’s renewed commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean. We also addressed our shared fight against drug trafficking. And, in a concrete step, today: we signed an agreement that facilitates employment for couples of diplomatic staff,” said the Belgian official.

The Mexican Foreign Minister was also with members of Business Europe, the largest representation of European companies. The group reported: “We discussed how to strengthen cooperation on trade, investment and broader economic ties. We now look forward to moving forward with the signing and ratification of the Modernized Global Agreement between the EU and Mexico and the Interim Trade Agreement. This will unlock new opportunities on both sides, deepen our partnership and support more resilient and diversified economies,” Business Europe stated.