Minister Costello accompanying President Higgins on official visit to Mexico

22 October 2013

by Cllr Joe Costello

Labour Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, has described Mexico as an important economic and political partner for Ireland.

Speaking from Mexico where he is accompanying the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, on an official visit, Minister Costello said:

“Mexico is Ireland’s biggest trade partner in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and our nineteenth trade partner overall with trade of some one billion euro in 2012.

“There is significant potential for greater connections between Ireland and Mexico. This morning we witnessed a number of contracts and Memoranda of Understanding signed between Irish businesses and their Mexican partners, as well as between a number of Irish universities with Mexican third level institutions.

“The President’s visit to Mexico and to Central America brings added value to the work already been done by Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and the Embassy of Ireland in seeking and developing business opportunities.

“Agri-business continues to be a very strong market for Irish interests in Mexico, and sectors such as information and communication technology and education offer great potential for increasing business. In meeting Irish people now active in Mexico, we heard of a strong enthusiasm for the prospects in this exciting market.”

The Minister also noted the strong political engagement between Ireland and Mexico and said:

“Yesterday, Mexico’s Foreign Minister, José Antonio Meade Kuribrena and I discussed our shared views and priorities in areas such as sustainable development and the international fight against hunger. We signed a Joint Statement in the presence of the Presidents, in which we committed to greater collaboration on issues that concern our two countries, including development, trade and investment.

“I look forward to the Enterprise Ireland business breakfast networking event today [Tuesday, 22nd October] as this will offer a valuable opportunity for Irish companies with interests in the Mexican market to deepen their relationships both with existing and potential partners.

“I am also delighted that President Higgins will have the opportunity today to address the prestigious Mexico Business Summit in Guadalajara as this offers an extremely valuable platform from which to support an increase in bilateral trade and investment relations between our two countries.”