The event was co-organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Mexico (ACMC) and the Western Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE Occidente) with the participation of nearly 300 officials and businesspeople in Jalisco.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoai Duong (C) speaks at the forum.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoai Duong, who is also rotating Chairman of the ACMC, highlighted the cooperation potential between ASEAN countries and Jalisco in particular and Mexico in general in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing industry, information technology, investment, education and tourism.

He said Mexico is a key market of the ASEAN in the Latin American region and a gateway to boost cooperative ties with the Pacific Alliance (including Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru).

With the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) of which Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Mexico are members, trade exchanges between Mexico and ASEAN are forecast to further increase, he added.

Mexico is now the third biggest trade partner of Vietnam in Latin America while Vietnam is the eighth most important import-export market of Mexico in Asia, Duong said, noting that two-way trade reached nearly 5 billion USD in 2018, up 6.5 times against 2009.

At the forum, Jalisco officials and businesspeople discussed cooperation opportunities between the ASEAN and Mexico and its localities.

They highlighted Mexican products which have huge opportunities for export to the ASEAN such as automobiles and spare parts, equipment and machinery, leather products, beef, processed food, fruits and vegetables.

At the business-to-business (B2B) networking forum, dozens of Mexican enterprises met with trade representatives from the embassies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to study information in the fields of their interests.

According to Mexico’s statistics, trade between Mexico and the aforesaid ASEAN countries enjoyed an average annual growth of 10 percent to hit 25.51 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2018.

Vietnam attends 32nd ASEAN-US Dialogue

Deputy Foreign Minister and head of Vietnam ASEAN SOM Nguyen Quoc Dung led a Vietnamese delegation to the 32nd ASEAN-US Dialogue held in Washington DC from March 27-28. 

 

US-ASEAN Business Council bridges US firms and Vietnam: official

The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) has worked as an important bridge helping US firms invest in Vietnam and enhancing cooperation between the two nations, said Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien. 

 

ASEAN+3 singing contest 2019 launched

The ASEAN+3 singing contest 2019, the second of its kind, has been officially launched, open to professional pop singers aged 18-35 from 10 Southeast Asian nations with a view to promoting cultural exchanges in the bloc. 

 

Vietnam attends 16th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces' Meeting in Thailand

A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) led by Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the VPA and Deputy Defence Minister, are attending the 16th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces' Meeting (ACDFM 16) that is being held in Thailand on March 6-7.

 

ASEAN nations join hands to eliminate child, early, forced marriage

A forum on the child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on March 6 by the ASEAN Secretariat in combination with the UN Children's Fund, UN Population Fund, and the Plan International. 

 

Source: VNA