Mexico City, Mexico — The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, said that Mexico’s relationship with Spain has a promising future. He made the comment during a Wednesday meeting with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares Bueno.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain arrived in Mexico City Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he met with Mexico’s Marcelo Ebrard. Both sides agreed that bilateral ties are very important since they are mutually beneficial.
In a message to the media from the Mexican Foreign Ministry, Marcelo Ebrard specified that several agreements were signed.
“The relationship with Spain for Mexico (…) is a very important relationship in many ways. We have close relationships, affection, appreciation for the Spanish people, for the great contribution that the presence of Spain in our country has meant for Mexico,” said the foreign minister.
“We have a promising future in our relations,” added Ebrard.
The Spanish minister stressed that Mexico is a strategic partner not only in Latin America, but throughout the world. He said that the country is the main economic partner in Latin America as there are 7,000 established Spanish companies that generate 300,000 direct jobs and around one million indirectly.
“Today, with the signings of various agreements on various points, we are accelerating that relationship again, a relationship that from the Spanish point of view I can only describe as a privileged relationship. It is a mutually beneficial relationship because Spain, the Spaniards, the Spanish companies have always believed in Mexico,” said Albares Bueno.
Albares Bueno made the comment on Wednesday in response to February accusations by AMLO of corrupt Spanish companies in Mexico. José Manuel Albares, rejected what he had called the “unfounded statements” by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against Spanish companies.
“We reject them as unfounded. They are words that are repeated and repeated, that have no foundation or basis, and what I do hope is that this does not cloud the other (positive) part of the Mexico president’s speech,” the minister said at a press conference.
“I have also asked both the Senate and my counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, as in the various meetings I have had, for legal certainty (for companies),” he added.
The Spanish minister made these statements after an official visit on Wednesday in which he met with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Mexico (Camescom), the leaders of the Senate, the foreign minister and the Spanish community in Mexico, where 175,000 Spaniards reside.
During the Spanish Foreign Minister’s visit, President López Obrador insisted in his morning conference that there must be a “pause” in relations with Spain to reflect on the “looting” and “corruption” that he perceived in previous governments.