Richard Bruton
Question:63 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the current state of Ireland's relations with Mexico. [8312/00]
Written Answers. - Diplomatic Relations with Mexico.
The last twelve months have seen an intensification of the relations between Ireland and Mexico against the background of a number of bilateral visits and contacts, as well as new developments in our formal diplomatic relations.
Bilateral contacts saw the Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Rosario Green, visit Ireland in March 1999. This was followed in April by President McAleese's highly successful state visit to Mexico.
On 1 April 1999 the Government announced its decision to establish an embassy in Mexico City and this was opened in October 1999. In September 1999, the then Minister, Deputy Andrews, maintained the momentum of Ireland's new relationship with Mexico when he met the Foreign Minister, Mrs. Green, in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. One of his final engagements as Minister for Foreign Affairs was a meeting with the Minister, Mrs. Green, when, in his capacity as chairman of the committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, he welcomed Mexico's new status as an observer to that body in January last. Last month, en marge of the meeting of European Union and Latin American Foreign Ministers in Vilamoura, Portugal, I briefly met the Foreign Minister, Mrs. Green, and we took the opportunity to review developments in our bilateral relations.
Mexico in recent years has become an increasingly important economic and political force in Latin America. The importance of the role Mexico plays in that rapidly changing region has been reflected in its active leadership as President of the Rio Group of Latin American countries and in its very effective co-chairmanship of the summit between the EU and the Latin American and Caribbean countries in Rio de Janeiro in June 1999.
The European Commission has recently completed a series of negotiations on trade and economic relations with Mexico. These negotiations were undertaken on foot of the interim agreement on trade and trade related matters, which had been signed on 8 December 1997. The interim agreement is one of community competence and is separate from the global agreement on economic partnership, political co-ordination and co-operation, which is of mixed competence as between the community itself and its member states, and which was signed on the same date. The global agreement was approved by Dáil Éireann on 23 June 1999. The global agreement has consequently been ratified by Ireland. The agreement contains a human rights clause.
The results of the trade negotiations conducted by the commission with Mexico are comprehensive in scope and cover the broad range of economic and trade relations between the EU and Mexico, including market access, services, capital movements, public procurement, dispute settlement procedures, rules of origin, anti-dumping safeguards, agriculture, fisheries and customs co-operation. These should produce increased trade and investment flows between the EU and Mexico.
The outcome of the negotiations was discussed at the meeting of the General Affairs Council on 14 February 2000 and is expected to be adopted by a decision of the EU – Mexico Joint Council, which will be held in Lisbon today,en marge of the Special European Summit on Employment, in the presence of President Zedillo of Mexico.
Mexico is Ireland's most important trading partner in Latin America, accounting for more than 30% of our trade in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and a growing volume of Irish investment. Ireland has been able to accept the results of the negotiations without any difficulty and fully endorses the global agreement and the interim agreement with Mexico, which are expected to benefit both Mexico and the EU and the member states. The agreements should also assist Ireland to develop its bilateral political and trade relations with Mexico. Already a delegation from the Irish-Mexican Business Association has visited Mexico this month to prepare for a full-scale visit later this year.
Mexico's influence is also felt outside its own region, not least at the United Nations where it is one of Ireland's partners in the New Agenda initiative on nuclear disarmament. In the course of the preparatory work on the convention to ban landmines, Ireland and Mexico worked closely together as members of the central core group which led the negotiations.
During President McAleese's state visit to Mexico, two memoranda of understanding on cultural and educational exchanges were signed. My colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands has followed this up with a visit to Mexico in September 1999 which has stimulated further cultural contacts.
I welcome the recent intensification of relations between Ireland and Mexico and see these as a foundation for the forging of closer ties between the two countries, both bilaterally and in an EU context, and as co-operating partners on matters of international concern in multilateral fora. The planned visit of the Taoiseach to Mexico in September of this year will provide a timely opportunity to review the development of these relations, and to set them on the right path for the future.