MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexican president-elect and PM Cameron pledge to double bilateral trade by 2015

Peña Nieto and PM Cameron at 10 Downing Street during the very “positive” meeting

Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto called in London this week for expanded “cooperation and trade” between his country and Britain based on their shared vision of “free trade”.

Following a very busy agenda, Peña Nieto made use of the third stopover on his first European tour after the July 1 elections to share his “vision” in a very “positive and favourable” meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and later businessmen from the City of London.

After previous visits to Berlin and Madrid, the elected-president continued making his “first contacts” with European leaders to create a “climate of understanding that will favour cooperation between Mexico and nations of the EU”.

Peña Nieto said his priorities include “achieving economic growth, fighting poverty more efficiently, better health coverage and quality of education, and improving security.”

About the final point, while acknowledging that it is “one of the most painful subjects and biggest priorities for Mexicans,” he said that “the image projected abroad these days is worse than what life in Mexico is really like.”

After meeting for some 40 minutes with PM Cameron both leaders committed themselves to doubling bilateral trade by 2015 to 6.8 billion dollars, according to the official British spokesperson.

Peña Nieto also shared lunch with British business and financial CEO and revealed plans which include a new tax reform in Mexico that should attract more investment and promote growth.

“The reform would “establish a simplified tax system” and make the government “more accountable and transparent” besides generating “greater incentives for investment”.

In a brief statement at the Mexican embassy in London, Peña Nieto recalled that the UK is one of the EU countries which have invested heavily in Mexico. “In fact, this is the country after Spain that has invested most in Mexico,” he said.