The first ever meeting of the Pakistan-Mexico joint commission on trade, investment and economic co-operation will be held in Mexico on Thursday, an official statement said here on Wednesday.
Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar will lead the Pakistan delegation, while Mexican side would be led by Under-secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Angel Villalobs Rodriguez.
The agreement to establish the Pakistan Mexico Joint Commission was signed between the two countries during the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Mexico in 2004. On the occasion, President Musharraf and President Vincente Fox inter alia agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations and increase mutual trade, commerce and economic co-operation.
In May 2006 Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar, visited Mexico to opperationalise the Consultations Mechanism on Matters of Common Interest. Wide ranging discussion on bilateral relations as well as regional an international issues were held. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen political, trade cultural and education relations.
The opperationalisation of the Joint Commission on Thursday, was another major step forward in the Pakistan-Mexico relationship. The Joint Commission meeting had a wide-ranging agenda-including exchange of views on the economic outlook of both countries, joint evaluation of economic, trade and investment opportunities between Pakistan and Mexico, review of the status of various agreements under consideration, and consideration proposals for deeper collaboration in fields of trade, industry, investment, services and private sector participation. The two sides would also discuss the issue of ban on the exports of Pakistani rice to Mexico with a view to finding an early resolution.
During her visit to Mexico, Minister of States Hina Rabbani Khar was also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with a broad array of stakeholders. She would be calling on the Secretary for Economy Sergio Garcia Zapada and had meeting with President of the National Chambers of Commerce, and investors and other senior officials. The Ministry would also have broad interaction with the Mexican media, including interviews with TV channels and newspapers.
The Minister of State was heading an inter-Ministerial delegation, comprising officials of the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Foreign Affairs as well as Economic Affairs Division and the Board of Investment.