An online conference was held in Mexico City on April 7 to explore trade and investment cooperation between Mexico and ASEAN, drawing nearly 100 participants from Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Mexico City (VNA) – An online conference was heldin Mexico City on April 7 to explore trade and investment cooperation between Mexicoand ASEAN, drawing nearly 100 participants from Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand,Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Addressing the event, jointly held by the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE)and the ASEAN Committee in Mexico, Sergio Ley, Director of COMCE’s Departmentof Asia and Oceania said that ASEAN is an important trade partner of Mexico.
He said that his country wants to develop partnership withthe association in all fields, especially trade and investment.
Representatives from the COMCE and Mexican businessesintroduced the economic-trade development of Mexico as well as trade andinvestment cooperation opportunities for foreign investors, and cooperationprospect between Mexico and countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the SoutheastAsian region in particular.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoanh Nam highlightedVietnam’s economic, trade and investment achievements in recent years. Lastyear, despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam was still among the fewcountries maintaining economic growth. The Southeast Asian nation achieved dualtargets of controlling the pandemic and boosting economic growth at the sametime.
The ambassador suggested that both sides increase theexchange of business delegations to explore each other market and buildmechanisms to remove obstacles facing bilateral trade and bolster economic,trade and investment ties between Mexico and ASEAN and Vietnam in particular.
The diplomat called on ASEAN and Mexican firms to graspopportunities from free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA)Agreement.
Participants agreed to work more closely together inoptimising initiatives and giving proposals to accelerate two-way trade andinvestment ties.
Mexican statistics showed that trade between Mexico andASEAN in 2020 reached 28 billion USD./.
The ambassadors of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia in Mexico have lauded the role that Vietnam took as the Chair of the ASEAN Committee (ACMC) in Mexico in the first half of this year in strengthening the partnership between the grouping and the host country.
Ambassadors and chargé d'affaires of ASEAN countries in Mexico, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, on May 13 had an online exchange with Director General for Asia-Pacific at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Claudia Franco Hijuelos about the COVID-19 fight in Southeast Asia and Mexico.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
At the conference (Photo: VNA) 
