OPENING REMARKS BY MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE AND SECOND MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS AND TRADE & INDUSTRY AT THE BUSINESS LUNCHEON IN HONOUR OF PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERON OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES ON MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2012, 1220 HRS AT CASUARINA BALLROOM, SHANGRI-LA, SINGAPORE
His Excellency Felipe Calderon, President of the United Mexican States
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,
Good afternoon. I am happy to welcome His Excellency Felipe Calderon, President of the United Mexican States, and his distinguished delegation to Singapore. Your Excellency, Mr President, your visit to Singapore with your distinguished delegation, is testament to the strengthening ties between our two countries. I would also like to welcome the Singaporean businessmen whose presence here is a strong signal of the interest that Singapore companies have in Mexico.
Economic and Political Ties
Singapore and Mexico may be thousands of miles apart, but our two countries are growing closer together. Our bilateral economic relations are strong and have gained momentum in recent years. Mexico is among Singapore’s top partners in Latin America, with average annual bilateral trade in the past 3 years of some US$3.1 billion (S$3.8 billion). Investments in both directions are also growing strongly. The bilateral economic agreements we have in place – namely, an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement and an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement1 - help to facilitate the growth of trade and investment between our countries.
In fact, a number of Singapore companies, such as ST Electronics, Banyan Tree and Portek, have been operating and doing well in Mexico since the early to mid 2000s in sectors as diverse as electronics, hospitality, infrastructure and logistics. The successes of these pioneers have attracted other Singapore companies to also seek out business opportunities in Mexico. To facilitate such activities, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, which established an overseas office in Mexico City in 2000, will continue to help Singapore companies explore opportunities in sectors like oil and gas, urban solutions, and consumer goods. IE Singapore works closely with ProMexico, Mexico’s trade and investment promotion office in Singapore, to help Singapore companies enter the Mexican market and participate in the opportunities presented by the Mexican private and public sectors.
Likewise, some Mexican companies, such as PMI, the oil trading arm of Mexico’s national oil company PEMEX, and Binbit, a company which develops entertainment applications for mobile platforms, have established key functions in Singapore, to capitalise on our strategic location to serve the regional market. Mexican companies that plan to establish their regional headquarters or locate their strategic functions in Singapore to serve the Asian and Southeast Asian markets, will find a good partner in Singapore’s Economic Development Board.
Mexico is an important economic partner of Singapore, and our economic ties are likely to deepen and broaden even more with Mexico’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Some of us may recall that, more than a decade ago, Singapore and Mexico were making good progress towards a bilateral Free Trade Agreement before talks unfortunately stalled because of other priorities. We are therefore very pleased that Mexico has joined the TPP and welcome this move which will provide more opportunities for us to enhance our collaboration at both the government-to-government and business-to-business levels.
People Ties
Our strengthening economic and political relations are mirrored by the growing people-to-people ties between Singapore and Mexico. There are currently several student exchange programmes between Singapore universities and Mexican universities, such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the Monterrey Institute of Technology. These programmes are increasingly popular with a growing number of Singapore students who compete each year for the limited spaces available. I am also happy to note that, just a few months ago, Singapore’s Education Ministry decided to add Spanish to the list of foreign languages that our best students can study as their third language after English and their Mother Tongue Language of Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. In time to come, this will help more Singaporeans to acquire the linguistic key to access and appreciate more fully the rich cultures of Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries.
Indeed, the warm and friendly ties that we share are such that, two years ago, when Singapore as the host of the first Youth Olympic Games brought the Olympic Flame from Greece to Singapore, it was an easy decision for us to make Mexico City the stop for the Flame’s visit to the Americas. It warmed our hearts to see thousands of Mexicans in Zocalo Square welcoming the Flame in the heart of Mexico City’s historic centre.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by noting that, against the backdrop of slow growth and weak demand in the advanced economies, it is now more important than ever that our businesses to seek opportunities in new markets. To Singapore companies, I say, do take a serious look at Mexico if you have not already begun to do so. To our Mexican friends, Singapore is both a market as well as an excellent gateway to do business in Asia, not only in China or India, but also Southeast Asia.
As mentioned by IE Singapore, Singapore will host the Latin-Asia Business Forum – an annual business platform to promote trade and investment linkages between Asia and Latin America, and for governments and business leaders from both regions to deepen our partnerships. I am confident that the delegates will reap many benefits from attending the Forum.
We look forward to the further deepening of economic and political ties between our two countries. On that note, it is now my pleasure to invite His Excellency Felipe Calderon, President of the United Mexican States, to address us. Your Excellency, please.
1 The Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement and Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement have been in force since September 1995 and April 2011, respectively.