Mexican diplomat emphasizes 'our present and future are linked with the Pacific'

Korea could deepen its cooperation with Latin America by engaging more closely with Mexico, Mexican Director-General of Asia-Pacific Fernando González-Saiffe said during an interview in Seoul.

Fernando González-Saiffe, Director General for Asia-Pacific at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations, speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Embassy of Mexico in Jung District, central Seoul, on Friday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Korea could deepen its cooperation with Latin America by engaging more closely with Mexico, Mexican Director-General of Asia-Pacific Fernando González-Saiffe said during an interview in Seoul.

“We are a Pacific country, and we believe that our present and future are linked with the Pacific, and we want to share the bond with like-minded countries like Korea,” González-Saiffe told the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Embassy of Mexico in Jung District on Friday.

González-Saiffe is in Seoul to meet with officials at Korea's Foreign Ministry and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and participate in the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (Fealac). He also met with young leaders from Mikta middle-power countries, the informal partnership group between Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia.

González-Saiffe outlined the key trade sectors between Korea and Mexico, emerging industries and how the two countries could expand their bilateral relations to address multilateral issues on the global stage.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. What are the key areas of cooperation between Mexico and Korea in the Asia-Pacific region, and are there any upcoming high-level visits or diplomatic initiatives planned between the two countries? A. Mexico-Korea relations have many legs — the political, trade-related, development-related and one that concerns people-to-people contact. On the political level, we are strategic partners; Mexico is fully committed to deepening our partnership with Korea. Our incoming President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will bring in a new era in terms of gender parity in Mexico, and we are working with the new administration in terms of foreign policy objectives. Strengthening our relationship with Asia is one of the key aspects [of the policy] and that of course includes Korea. I think it’s very important in terms of deepening our relationship to continuously have meetings between our leaders. Our Foreign Ministers have met consistently and there will be another UN high-level meeting this September. In a nutshell, we are undergoing a very promising development in our bilateral relations.

How has the trade relationship between Mexico and Korea evolved in recent years, particularly in the context of the Asia-Pacific, and what sectors do you see as having the most potential for future economic collaboration between our two countries? Trade is the cornerstone of Mexico-Korea relations, and last year Korea was our third global trading partner. This year Korea is our fifth trading partner and trade exceeds $25 billion a year, an astounding number. For Korea, too, Mexico is the most important Latin American trading partner by far, as we are the main market for Korea in the region and the tenth global buyer of Korean goods and services. The main areas are auto parts, electric circuits and engines, but going beyond that we have been working very hard to identify other important sectors, namely in green energy, health and beauty products. Agro technology, financial services, mining, logistics, IT and artificial intelligence are additional areas that we identified that could make our trade relationship go further ahead. I would also like to note that more than 1,000 Korean companies are established in Mexico ranging from large companies to medium-sized businesses and startups.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry recently held a meeting with members of the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in June, which you attended. What was discussed during the meeting and are there any joint projects in the aerospace sector between Mexico and Korea planned for the future? The president of KARI Lee Sang-ryool visited Mexico, and we were very pleased and honored because he is a legend in the aerospace industry. During the meeting, we explored avenues for cooperation with institutions in Mexico and KARI, and also with universities, including Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM). An ongoing project involving the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency was also discussed.

How does Mexico view the role of Korean investment in the country’s economy, particularly in industries like technology and automotive? The numbers are very impressive. Investment flows have increased exponentially in the last decade, making Korea the 11th worldwide investor in Mexico. We also welcome Korean investment because we see that Korean companies have corporate responsibility, creating jobs and opportunities. There are also some key development projects, with one such important project being an oil refinery, the Dos Bocas Refinery. One of the main developers was Samsung Engineering.

Some may ask why Korean companies would want to go to Mexico, and that is because there are many unique competitive advantages. We have a large internal market, with a population of approximately 130 million, out of which 85 million are in the middle-income range. We are a young country with a young population. We are also strategically located and have important free-trade agreements including the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). So if a Korean company set up in Mexico, they can export their products to the North American market tariff-free. We are also part of a grouping called the Pacific Alliance and close to the European market. All these opportunities are available from Mexico. Are there any particular areas where you believe Mexico and Korea can work together more closely to address global challenges, such as climate change or pandemic response? Our relationship in the multilateral arena is, of course, very important. Crucial global challenges, from global warming to demographic and technological transformation, cannot be resolved by one country alone. And as middle powers, Mexico and Korea are sharing an important position at international and regional organizations on a broad range of issues including peace and security, disarmament, democracy, human rights, the environment, equitable global development and more.

How do you envision the future of Mexico-South Korea relations, particularly as the global geopolitical landscape evolves? Beyond Korea and Mexico being strategic partners, what is even more important is that we share values. And since we do so, we can strengthen and face challenges more effectively in the global scenario. We both believe in democracy and are full-fledged democracies. In Mexico’s most recent election, we saw the highest level of participation in election history. Mexico and Korea also both believe in international cooperation and have the common goal to contribute to a better global governance and the benefit of our people. Ultimately, the message I would like to highlight from Mexico is that we are a Pacific country and we believe that our present and future are linked with the Pacific, and we want to share the bond with like-minded countries like Korea.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]