Visiting Ankara, Mexican FM stresses stronger ties with Turkey

Despite the distance between them, the emerging economies of Turkey and Mexico are seeking to strengthen cooperative ties in such areas as economic opportunities, migration, and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, said Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinoza, on a visit to Turkey last week. "Turkey has an increasing pressure in the international arena. It's really assuming the role it is (being) called (on) to play as one major country, one important economy," Espinoza said in an interview Friday. Following a visit to Mexico last year by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both countries have started to work on a framework to boost bilateral relations. In Ankara on Friday, Espinoza signed an agreement for cooperation on education, science, culture, the arts, the media, youth and sports. She stressed the similarities between Mexico and Turkey as large, developing countries that are very open to contact with the outside world. Saying that Mexico is following Turkey's European Union accession talks, she added, "We believe very much in integration and strengthening the institutions of the country." Espinoza said Mexico hopes to provide further opportunities for the two sides to seek joint ventures and projects together. Turkish companies "can make some joint efforts to have a bigger presence in Mexico," she said, adding that Turkish firms can develop with other companies in Latin Aamerica in general, as well as the Caribbean. This November, Cancun, Mexico will host the 16th session Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "I was very happy to hear that Turkey is ready to support Mexico in its task as a host and chair of the conference on climate change," said Espinoza. "Turkey is an important actor in these negotiations. We hope that Turkey will remain being a very active participant in order to give an impulse to having … the most concrete negotiations as soon as possible."