Jordan, Mexico celebrate 43 years of ‘increasingly strong friendship’

AMMAN — Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Jordan and Mexico in 1975, bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural fields have multiplied, reaching a culminating point with the opening of resident embassies in both capitals, the Mexican embassy said.

In a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, the embassy highlighted the two countries' embracing of shared democratic values and their commitment to implementing reforms to improve the livelihoods of their citizens through promoting development, security, justice and peace.  

Upon this foundation, the two governments are working to cement their current relations and to identify new areas of cooperation in the future, which will help increase the number of investments, tourists, technical assistance and bilateral trade, the statement read.  

At the bilateral level, Jordan and Mexico are looking into expanding contacts between the two societies and exploring possibilities for technical cooperation, for instance by helping our respective security forces to achieve greater exchanges of information and benefit from mutual experiences in the fight against transnational organised crime and terrorism. 

Meanwhile, the two countries are building a robust legal framework and looking into the field of legal cooperation and exchange of experiences, the statement added.

In the economic field, Jordan and Mexico are diversifying their exchanges, with a gradual increase in bilateral trade. In 2017, exports from Jordan to Mexico reached more than $28 million and have already summed $18 million in the first half of 2018, the statement read, citing textiles, agricultural equipment, fertilisers and other chemical products as the main Jordanian exports to Mexico. 

Highlighting "an enormous potential" to further trade growth to the benefit of the two countries, the statement noted that the Jordan Business Association recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the exchange of business information with the Mexican Arab Chamber of Commerce, while conducting negotiations to conclude an agreement on cooperation in various administrative issues and continuing to discuss ways to promote tourism in both countries.   

According to official figures, in 2017 almost 50 per cent more Mexicans visited Jordan in 2017 comapred to the previous year, with the trend expected to keep growing through 2018. 

Acknowledging the generous role Jordan has played in assisting and receiving Syrian refugees, Mexico reiterated its support to the humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees through special financial contributions pledged at the main multilateral forums addressing the issue.