Photo by Luis Vidal on Unsplash
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Mexico on Thursday (15 June) to meet President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
This was the first visit of the head of the European Commission to Mexico in 11 years and it aimed to relaunch the bilateral relationship and the Strategic Partnership between Mexico and the European Union in all its dimensions.
The two presidents held a dialogue in which they identified joint priorities and challenges such as the fight against inequality, the fight against poverty, human rights, the energy transition, the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, migration, health, inflation and food security and the defence of international law.
Mexico is the European Union’s second largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean and, in turn, the European Union is Mexico’s third largest trading partner and the second largest investor in the country.
In the light of this intense economic relationship, they agreed to pursue policies that promote sustainable, resilient and inclusive economic growth and development that favour social justice on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Presidents agreed on the objective of strengthening bilateral plans and programmes to promote greater mutual investment, technology and knowledge flows for the benefit of the respective societies.
An EC spokesman told this site they exchanged on the opportunities offered by the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative for priority projects in Mexico, on sustainable finance, public health, vaccine production, sustainable energy including green hydrogen, and on sustainable water management.
They agreed on the potential of Mexican initiatives such as Plan Sonora and the inter-oceanic corridor of the Istmo de Tehuantepec.
Both Presidents identified Mexico as a strategic energy, industrial and logistical hub to supply the North American and European markets, with a high potential in green hydrogen energy, and agreed that European investments will be important to contribute to its development.
In this context, they commended the signature of the Joint Declaration of Intent between the Government of the Mexican United States and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the strategy of sustainable financing in Mexico in the framework of the political relation between Mexico and the EU.
