November 27, 2015 | Mexico City | Press Release 611
- 150 representatives from the public and private sectors from both countries discussed the challenges and opportunities for development.
- They discussed the environment, human capital, trade, investment and innovation to make North America into a more competitive region.
The 11th annual meeting of the Mexico-Canada Partnership (MCP) concluded today. It was attended by 150 representatives from the public and private sectors of both countries who met to agree on a bilateral agenda to make North America into the most dynamic and competitive region.
At the meeting, held at the Foreign Ministry, the different working groups discussed issues related to forestry, human capital, trade, investment and innovation, energy, the environment and labor mobility. They discussed the progress made from 2014-2015 and the future of the MCP, and decided on specific actions to align the Partnership’s goals with the bilateral priorities, said the Undersecretary for North America, Carlos Pérez Verdía.
The civil society representatives on the Executive Committee (two business executives and two academics from each country) contributed to aligning the MCP with the regional and global challenges to ensure that its actions would have a greater social and economic impact on key issues such as climate change, energy, labor mobility, fighting forest fires and human capital, among others.
The fight against climate change, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), clean energy and defending against unilateral protectionist measures against meat exports, among others, are issues of shared interest that have contributed to deepening the MCP bilateral dialogue, which is based on the premise of economic and social inclusion.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Energy Ministry and Manitoba Hydro International Ltd. for technical and scientific cooperation and to develop projects in areas of shared interest, and CONACyT and Universities Canada signed a cooperation agreement to create a joint graduate fellowship program.
The Partnership co-chairs, Carlos Pérez Verdía and David Morrison, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Americas at Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, said the meeting allowed them to agree on strategies and identify new avenues of cooperation in line with the priorities of each country and focused on making North America into the most dynamic and competitive region. In addition, a monitoring and evaluation mechanism was created to follow up on the progress made by the projects agreed on by each working group.
The Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Socorro Flores Liera, also met with David Morrison to discuss issues of mutual interest related to Latin America and the Caribbean, and their institutional arrangements. The Undersecretary outlined the progress made by Mexico's foreign policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean, especially as regards the relaunch of the relationship with Cuba. She also discussed the strengthening of the relationship with Central America and opportunities to boost triangular cooperation with Canada there, mainly in infrastructure and comprehensive disaster risk management.
Deputy Minister Morrison said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inauguration opened new avenues to a new era in the relationship between Mexico and Canada, as well as opportunities to strengthen the political dialogue and cooperation.
They also discussed the dynamism of the forums for hemispheric integration to which Mexico and Canada are parties, such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Pacific Alliance, where Canada has been an observer since 2012 and participates in education projects and trade facilitation.
