President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who is in Mexico on a State Visit, was received by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on 10 June 2016 in a ceremonial welcome at the National Palace.
During their meeting, President Tan and President Peña Nieto reaffirmed the warm and longstanding relations between Singapore and Mexico, and commemorated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-Mexico diplomatic relations in December 2015. Both leaders underscored their commitment to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, and noted the many opportunities to expand political, economic, education, cultural and people-to-people links. In this regard, they witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements on joint technical assistance to third countries, agriculture and food production, education and to promote trade and investment. Both leaders also exchanged views on developments in their respective regions, and discussed how to leverage Singapore-Mexico relations to build bridges between Asia and Latin America. President Peña Nieto also then hosted President Tan and the Singapore delegation to a State Lunch. A Joint Communique issued following their meeting is attached. Later in the afternoon, President Tan was presented with the Key to Mexico City by the Head of Government of Mexico City Dr Miguel Ángel Mancera.
On 9 June 2016, President Tan laid a wreath at the Altar a la Patria monument in memory of the heroes of the 1847 Battle of Chapultepec. He also attended a business luncheon co-organised by the Singapore Business Federation and the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology.
President Tan departs for Singapore on 11 June 2016.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
11 JUNE 2016
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JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ BETWEEN THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES AND THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Mexico City, 10 June 2016
1. At the invitation of H.E. Enrique Peña Nieto, President of the United Mexican States, H.E. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore, made a State Visit to Mexico from 7 to 11 June 2016. President Tan was accompanied by a delegation of ministers, parliamentarians, government officials and businessmen. This is the first State Visit by a Singapore President to Mexico and Latin America.
2. The celebration of 40 years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Singapore in 2015 underscored the growing importance of bilateral relations, framed in the increase of trade and investment flows, the volume of bilateral and triangular cooperation, as well as the frequency of high level visits and meetings.
3. Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto and Tony Tan Keng Yam welcomed the excellent progress made in the bilateral relationship. They concurred in the value of further seizing opportunities to strengthen and deepen this partnership, and reaffirmed their commitment to that end. Both leaders highlighted that this historic State Visit marks a milestone for an ever-closer relationship and partnership between Mexico and Singapore.
4. The President of Mexico stressed the progress made by Singapore to become a prosperous and advanced society, building its success on the foundation of a cohesive multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic, and multi-religious society.
5. Likewise, the President of Singapore highlighted the structural reforms carried out during President Peña Nieto’s administration, which will strengthen the country’s economy and competitiveness, expand citizens' rights, and reinforce its institutions. These reforms will create new and greater opportunities for investment, trade and other forms of cooperation between Mexico and Singapore.
In this context, both leaders:
Political Dialogue
6. Noted with satisfaction the continuing interactions between both countries, including through the Mechanism for Bilateral Political Consultations, which contributed to nurturing exchanges aimed at strengthening economic and investment ties, as well as enriching scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.
7. Agreed upon the need to continue fostering political dialogue at the highest possible level, and committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship through more active exchanges between their respective ministries and governments. At the same time, they agreed to continue promoting closer parliamentary ties.
8. Agreed to continue pursuing broad-based cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural spheres to realise the full potential of the bilateral relationship, thus further strengthening the bilateral institutional frameworks to that end.
9. Discussed ways to foster communication channels to improve mutual understanding and dialogue to take full advantage of the bilateral relationship, and to promote closer ties between Latin America and the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
Economic Development
10. Noted that senior business representatives from both countries participated in business events as well as high level meetings held in conjunction with the State Visit, and highlighted the importance of promoting closer economic ties to take full advantage of trade and investment opportunities.
11. Recalled the Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, and looked forward to continuing constructive engagements to further facilitate bilateral trade, cooperation and investment between the two countries.
12. Underscored the increasing importance of both economies on a regional and global scale, and the diversity of such economic exchanges. In 2015, bilateral trade significantly improved, while the accumulated direct investment of Singaporean companies in Mexico has also increased in the last years. Likewise, there is a growing presence of Mexican companies in Singapore. The two Governments agreed to promote a richer dialogue on their respective business environments on trade and investment ties.
13. Agreed on the need to promote even greater trade and investments flows in key sectors such as energy, agribusiness, port and airport infrastructure, tourism, real estate, seabed mining, services, seafood, engineering and construction, aerospace, advance manufacturing, automotive, fast moving consumer goods, oil and gas, metals and minerals, urban planning and development, water and waste management, urban mobility, ICT/e-government solutions, electronics and biomedical products.
14. Highlighted their membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will strengthen and broaden the mutually-beneficial linkages between their economies, and reaffirmed the value of the TPP in bolstering open trade and regional integration. To this end, they emphasized the need for the prompt ratification of the TPP.
15. Acknowledged the importance of improving air connectivity as a key to unlocking each country’s economic growth potential, enabling the further attraction of business investments and trade flows and promoting tourism and greater market access for both regions.
16. Commended Banyan Tree’s hotels in Acapulco and the Riviera Maya as two important Singaporean ventures in Mexico, and noted Banyan Tree’s recently-launched Banyan Tree Mexico Hospitality Fund to finance investment in tourism-related projects.
17. Welcomed the opening of the new Kidzania center in Singapore, a Mexican project featuring over 7,600 square meters with an investment of more than US$65.2 million that is expected to receive an average of half a million visitors per year.
Development Cooperation
18. Stressed the importance of increasing exchanges and tangible programmes in the fields of culture, education, science and technology, healthcare, environment, information and media, sports and tourism to enrich bilateral ties and thus deepen mutual knowledge and understanding.
19. Welcomed the implementation of concrete technical cooperation initiatives, including activities and sharing of experiences with third countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and recognized the joint efforts of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore in this regard. They expressed their support for the further expansion of international development cooperation, and addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
20. Commended joint activities of triangular cooperation like the "Seminar on Housing and Urban Development", held in March 2015, and attended by participants from 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. They also welcomed the collaboration between the National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA) and PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, to organize a course on water resource management on 9-13 July 2016, in conjunction with the Singapore International Water Week.
Multilateral Affairs
21. Expressed their deep commitment to multilateralism and their shared vision as global actors, to further strengthen cooperation in the United Nations (UN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Forum for East Asia-Latin American Cooperation Forum (FEALAC), on pivotal issues, such as UN reform, disarmament, South-South cooperation, trade and investment flows, energy security, food security, sustainable development, human rights, rule of law and the principles of good governance.
22. Highlighted the strategic locations of Mexico and Singapore, and the important role that both countries play in their respective regions. In this context, they welcomed the participation of Singapore as an observer state of the Pacific Alliance, and emphasized the utmost significance of strengthening cooperation ties between the countries involved and Singapore with specific projects of mutual interest.
23. Congratulated Singapore on the successful completion of its term as country coordinator for cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific Alliance, which enhanced dialogue and cooperation between both regional organizations. Mexico recognizes Singapore as a key observer state of the Pacific Alliance in the Asia-Pacific region, and appreciates its active collaboration in projects that translate in mutual and concrete benefits for all member countries.
24. Reaffirmed their pride in being part of Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zones. Both leaders highlighted that the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons represent a growing global concern, and that the continued existence of nuclear weapons constitutes a threat to humanity, and to peace and international security. They stressed their commitment to continue working to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons globally.
25. Welcomed the signature of both countries of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on 22 April 2016, acknowledged climate change challenges and their common vulnerability to natural disasters, and stressed their readiness to work with the international community to promote greater adaptation and resiliency.
26. Recognized the unique opportunity that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development poses to pursue sustainable development in its three dimensions -economic, social and environmental- in a balanced and integrated manner. Therefore, they reaffirmed their commitment to take action for the full implementation of the action plan.
Agreements Forged
27. Witnessed the signing of the following cooperation agreements:
1. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore on International Development Cooperation.
2. Memorandum of Understanding on Food and Agricultural Cooperation between the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food of the United Mexican States, and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of the Republic of Singapore.
3. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Public Education of the United Mexican States and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Singapore on Cooperation in the Field of Education.
28. Welcomed the signing of the following cooperation agreements in the framework of the State Visit:
1. Memorandum of Understanding between ProMéxico and International Enterprise Singapore.
2. Renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology and the Singapore Business Federation.
3. Memorandum of Understanding between the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education and Nanyang Technological University.
29. Looked forward to the conclusion of negotiations on the following agreements:
1. Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Matters between the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of the United Mexican States and the Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Singapore.
2. Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore on Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
30. Both leaders declared this historic State Visit a success. They agreed that it was a first step towards a new stage in the bilateral relationship that will bring the bilateral relationship to a new and higher level, and a renewal of both countries’ commitment to further strengthening and consolidating the partnership between Mexico and Singapore, as well as promoting closer ties for a lasting friendship.
31. H.E. President Tony Tan expressed his appreciation for the warm hospitality provided by the people and the Government of Mexico to him and his delegation, and extended an invitation to H.E. President Enrique Peña Nieto to make a State Visit to Singapore.
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