It makes sense for Türkiye and Mexico to explore potential areas of cooperation to boost economic ties, Mexico’s foreign minister told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"We want to improve the relationship between our countries,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said in an exclusive interview.
Ebrard said the trade volume target between the two countries is $5 billion (TL 93.12 billion), but there is no reason for it not to be higher.
"The private sector in each country is looking for their traditional markets. So here we need to direct their attention to a new opportunity, which is our bilateral relationship,” he said.
On the impact that a free trade agreement would have on Turkish-Mexican ties, Ebrard said: "A free trade agreement between countries always has an important impact in the increase of investment, particularly in the first years. So it makes sense to explore this possibility.”
Asked which sectors the two countries will particularly focus on for cooperation in the short term, Ebrard pointed to "all the sectors linked to the car industry.”
"Both countries have very powerful manufacturing facilities related to the car industry,” he said.
"We are going to have a joint task force in order to make a study about new fields that can provide some new opportunities,” he added.
He also noted, however, that there are opportunities for cooperation between Türkiye and Mexico in the aeronautics, naval construction, semiconductor and medical equipment sectors.
Ebrard stressed that the aeronautics industry is growing rapidly in Mexico, with the country being the 14th largest aerospace supplier globally.
In the next five years, it is going to be the 12th or 10th largest, he added.
He said the country will also begin producing semiconductors in the next two years.
Ebrard identified tourism as "one of the most important” fields for Turkish investment in Mexico, adding that Turkish businesspeople also expressed their interest in the tourism sector during his recent meetings.
"Turkish enterprises are powerful in this regard,” he said, stressing that Mexico is witnessing a boom in tourism.
Free trade areas where factories "produce and then export to the U.S. in the northern border of the country” are among the potential areas of cooperation between Türkiye and Mexico, according to Ebrard.
Regarding talks between the Venezuelan government and opposition being hosted by Mexico, Ebrard said the parties will be back at the negotiating table for a third round "in the next weeks.”
"We don’t know exactly the date yet. But certainly, we are going to see a roundtable soon. It’s good news,” he said.
"Mexico is not going to tell them what to do,” he added, stressing that the country is there to provide the parties with a "neutral space.”
On his expectations for the negotiations, Ebrard said: "I think that they can reach important agreements in the next weeks to find out how to remove sanctions against the Venezuelan economy.”
He emphasized that people in Venezuela "are suffering a lot” because of the sanctions.
On Venezuelan migrants repatriated from the U.S. to Mexico under a migration agreement, Ebrard said: "The U.S. agreed to provide 24,000 humanitarian permits through this agreement. So regarding 24,000 families, it has been great to have this agreement.
"The idea is that you don’t need to have an irregular way to reach the Mexican-U.S. border or U.S. territory,” he noted.
Otherwise, migrants did not have any chance of remaining in the US because of Title 42, he explained.
Title 42 is a public health rule implemented by the Trump administration at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed authorities to expel migrants at U.S. land borders.
However, critics say the policy has been used to prevent migrants from entering the country despite a legal obligation to provide asylum to those who qualify.
Mexico already hosts around 150,000 Venezuelans who have been granted humanitarian permits, Ebrard said.
"They have rights. They can work. They can send their kids to school. There isn’t any kind of restriction on that,” he said.
Mexico has always hosted refugees and provided them with good conditions, including Venezuelans, Guatemalans, Hondurans and people from many countries, he added.
Mexico and Türkiye both face a migration burden stemming from either political or economic turmoil or civil war in neighboring countries, and are sharing their experiences in this regard, said Ebrard.
"We have had very important talks between our teams, embassies and relevant authorities to learn from each other’s lessons and experiences in past years,” he said.
"Mexico is a very open country regarding migration in real terms. It is very easy to receive refugee status. The only request is to fulfill Mexican regulations and respect the law.”
Ebrard emphasized that Türkiye has "very important experience” regarding migration.
Türkiye hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, more than any country in the world. It has worked to stabilize border regions in Syria that are not under the Assad regime’s control to enable the voluntary resettlement of displaced Syrians.
Regarding the mechanism set up to resolve problems Turkish citizens face at Mexican airports, Ebrard said: "We established a consular office at the airport to avoid inconvenience for tourists and people who travel to Mexico with proper documents.”
Those who reach Mexico by plane and do not have the necessary documents will face problems, he stressed, adding that the consular office has been established to prevent abuses.
