ASEAN Committee in Mexico City Conducts Official Visit to Puebla State in Mexico
The ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC) visits the Municipal Palace of Puebla (photo credit: Luis Enrique Moreira).
20 November 2017 MEXICO – The ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC) conducted an official visit and trade roadshow in the Mexican state of Puebla, meeting with officials from the government and educational sector to promote ASEAN culture and trade as part of the activities to highlight the 50th ASEAN Anniversary.
The ACMC, which is currently chaired by Malaysian Ambassador Mohamad Azhar bin Mazlan, includes the five resident ASEAN Ambassadors in Mexico, namely: Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Jose A. de Vega, Indonesian Ambassador Yusra Khan, Thai Ambassador Rommanee Kananurak, and the Vietnamese Embassy represented by Charge d’Affaires Dong Tuan Anh.
Also in attendance during the visit were the respective trade attachés of each ASEAN embassy, including Philippine Commercial Counselor Vichael Roaring.
During the visit, the ACMC met with Hon. Luis Banck Serrato, Mayor of the Municipality of Puebla, and senior state officials including Mr. Victor Mata Temoltzin, Secretary of Economic Development, and Mr. Alejandro Cañedo Priesca, Secretary for Tourism. The meeting also saw the participation of representatives from the state’s automotive and textile industries.
Amb. de Vega noted the significant boost in trade between the Philippines and Mexico in 2016, which posted a 28 percent increase versus the last year. He also highlighted the strong historic connection between Mexico and the Philippines, and described how these links persist to this day in the two countries’ respective cultures.
Amb. de Vega then mentioned Puebla’s status as one of the major hubs in the Mexican automotive industry, while noting that automotive parts are among the Philippines’ principal exports to Mexico. He spoke of the Philippines’ desire to boost its own automotive sector, with a view to integrating more closely with Mexico’s value chain.
Later that day, the ACMC presented a seminar for students and faculty at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, where each Ambassador spoke about the individual bilateral relations between their country and Mexico.
As before, Amb. de Vega mentioned the shared historical and cultural links between the Philippines and Mexico, and stated that these should be seen as a source of pride for young Mexicans and Filipinos, especially for those considering a career in international relations.
The Ambassador also noted that the Philippines and Mexico were the protagonists in what was arguably the first instance of globalization, the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, which connected continents, regions, peoples, and cultures through centuries.
Moving to the modern age, Amb. de Vega stated that the ASEAN region is ready and open to receive Mexico, both for business and people-to-people exchanges. Further to this, he recommended that UDLAP consider engaging in academic cooperation with ASEAN educational institutions.
Puebla is known as one of the centers for Mexico’s automotive sector, and is home to more than 70 industrial automotive part-makers, with most companies clustered around Volkswagen. In the 2010s, the automotive sector saw a surge, with more than $10 billion in investment committed in the first few months of 2014. Mercedes-Benz and Nissan finished construction of a $1.4 billion plant near Puebla City in 2015, while Audi began building a $1.3 billion factory in the same state in 2013. END
For more information, visit www.mexicope.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/MexicoPE.
From left: Vietnamese First Secretary Dong Tuan Anh, Thai Ambassador Rommanee Kananurak, Indonesian Ambassador Yusra Khan, Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Jose A. de Vega, Malaysian Ambassador Mohamad Azhar
The ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC) meets with government and business representatives of Puebla (photo credit: Luis Enrique Moreira).