VCCI President Pham Tan Cong receives the Mexican business delegation 

The Mexican business delegation included trading, overseas investment, agriculture and real estate firms. According to Mr. Miguel Ángel Landeros Volquarts, the cooperation agreement signed by the Mexican Business Council on Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in 2019 is an important agreement, and he hoped to see continued development cooperation in the future.

He said Mexico currently has 21 big exports bringing home more than US$45 billion a year, including apparel and footwear. Mexico is also focusing on developing automotive accessories, technology, and aerospace. Vietnam and Mexico are CPTPP members and their relationship will be further promoted.

“In 2023, I hope to lead two more business delegations to Vietnam and welcome Vietnamese business delegations to Mexico to explore the market. This is one of the practical activities to boost Vietnamese and Mexican business connectivity,” he added.

In response to COMCE President, VCCI President Pham Tan Cong said that Vietnam and Mexico have much room for economic development because they are two dynamic and fast-developing economies. The two sides always support each other in international forums.

Vietnam is aiming to become a developed country by 2045, so it needs to maintain annual GDP growth of about 7%, which Vietnam has done well in the past 20 years. By 2045, its economic scale will be very large and create a lot of opportunities for business development. Currently, Vietnam’s GDP is in the Top 40 of the world and its trade value is in the Top 20. In 2022, Vietnam is expected to earn US$400 billion from exports.

“Vietnam and Mexico both lie close to the world's major economic powers - the United States and China. This poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the businesses of the two countries to develop. By tapping each other's markets, the two countries’ companies can also approach these two largest markets in the world. Besides, Vietnam is an active member of ASEAN. Thus, the bilateral business cooperation will be able to make Vietnam and Mexico approach a giant market of over 2 billion people consisting of ASEAN, China and the U.S.,” said Mr. Cong.

VCCI President Cong is also delighted as Mr. Miguel Ángel Landeros Volquarts is also an honorary consul of Vietnam in Mexico, a practical bridge for businesses of the two countries, and is performing his mission well by bringing a delegation of Mexican businesses to Vietnam.

He added that Vietnam and Mexico are not as distant as they are thought because Vietnam and the U.S. are far apart but their trade turnover still grows strongly. Therefore, there will be no obstacle if their businesses understand and seize the opportunity to boost trade cooperation, especially when they are both already CPTPP partners. Mexico has many high-quality apparel and agricultural products, which can be exported directly to Vietnam without going through a third country, and Vietnam can directly export its strong products to Mexico as well.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong added that VCCI is a national representative of the Vietnamese business community with more than 200,000 member companies, and has many branches and offices nationwide. VCCI is willing to provide information and organize face-to-face meetings for Vietnamese and Mexican businesses to further foster trade relations between the two countries and look forward to receiving the support of the Mexican Embassy in Vietnam to connect the business community.

Mexican Ambassador Alejandro Negrin said that Vietnam-Mexico trade relations have grown strongly in recent years, especially when the two countries became partners in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Mexico is Vietnam's main partner in Latin America. The two sides are negotiating to elevate their relations, and Vietnam and Mexico will thus have a long way ahead to build more effective cooperation. He also affirmed that the Mexican Embassy is willing to support Mexican businesses to access and learn about the Vietnamese market.