MEXICO-CHILE/BACHELET Chile's Bachelet meets Pena Nieto in Mexico to boost economic ties

Record ID: 144137

  • Title: MEXICO-CHILE/BACHELET Chile's Bachelet meets Pena Nieto in Mexico to boost economic ties
  • Date: 14th August 2015
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (AUGUST 13, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** GENERAL VIEW OF EVENT FOR SIGNING OF BILATERAL AGREEMENT CHILEAN PRESIDENT MICHELLE BACHELET AND MEXICAN PRESIDENT ENRIQUE PENA NIETO LOOKING ON AS CHILEAN FOREIGN MINISTER HERALDO MUNOZ AND MEXICAN FOREIGN MINISTER JOSE ANTONIO MEADE SIGNING BILATERAL AGREEMENT FOREIGN MINISTERS SIGNI
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7RN7ZQA3YQSZ4X3UM4Q4I00AQ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was in Mexico City on Thursday (August 13) to celebrate 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties between the nations with the signing of new bilateral deals alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
    Chile and Mexico signed a free trade deal in 1998 and since then have been two of the region's biggest proponents of free trade. In the Mexican capital, the presidents watched on as their foreign ministers signed in a new bilateral agreement covering education, defence, health and social security.
    Both countries are founding members of the Pacific Alliance, an economic bloc also made up of Colombia and Peru to consolidate national economies with a path towards a more seamless and easier environment to do business.
    The economic bloc, created less than three years ago, is already the world's seventh-largest recipient of foreign direct investment, attracting $71 billion in 2012.
    Speaking in Mexico City, Bachelet said such international blocs were bringing in new opportunities to the region.
    "The Pacific Alliance, CELAC, APEC, the OECD are opening up more opportunities for collaboration in joint projects in commercial and investment areas, in education, culture, security, innovation, gastronomy, science and technology. Today we're increasing the number of agreements which unite us with Mexico because these are just ideas that are up in the area without concrete projects which provide quicker steps to new areas," she said.
    After Brazil and Colombia, Chile is Mexico's third-largest trading partner in Latin America, with more than a dozen agreements bringing the two countries together.
    "Today commercial exchange has exceeded $3.6 billion dollars. For Mexico, Chile is the third biggest commercial partner in Latin America. This provides a context and a clear dimension of the size of the relationship and the promising future in investment ties and reciprocal investment between both countries," said Pena Nieto.
    To mark Bachelet's official state visit to Mexico, the country's military put on a show of pomp and pageantry in the capital's Campo Marte military base.
    Also on her Mexican itinerary, Bachelet will meet with members of the Chilean expat community as well as attend a standing committee of Mexico's Congress.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register