Mexico City (VNA) - A delegation of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC), led by Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Van Hai, who currently serves as ACMC Chair, paid a working visit to Jalisco, one of Mexico’s leading provinces in economic growth, technology, and innovation from October 14–17.
The delegation included the ambassadors of Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, met with Governor Jesús Pablo Lemus Navarro, members of the provincial cabinet, Zapopan Mayor Juan José Frangie, representatives of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE), and visited the National Council of Science and Technology’s Innovation Centre (CONACyT). The delegation offered flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Monument in Guadalajara.
At the meeting with Governor Navarro, Ambassador Hai described ASEAN as a dynamic community of over 670 million people with a combined GDP of nearly 4 trillion USD, making it the world’s fifth-largest economy.
He welcomed Mexico’s ongoing preparations to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), calling it a strategic step toward strengthening engagement with the region.
The Vietnamese diplomat emphasised that Jalisco embodies creativity and innovation, values that align with ASEAN’s vision, and expressed ASEAN’s readiness to build new bridges of cooperation with the province in science, technology, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.
Governor Navarro hailed the visit as a valuable opportunity to enhance cooperation between Jalisco and the “young, dynamic, and ambitious” ASEAN region, affirming that the province is open to investment projects and knowledge exchange with Southeast Asian nations.
Jalisco officials praised ASEAN’s remarkable development and regional integration, viewing Southeast Asia as a model for cooperation that Mexico can learn from to strengthen its competitiveness in Latin America and the Americas.
Jalisco Secretary-General Salvador Zamora Zamora noted ASEAN’s growing influence in global supply chains, adding that closer trade with ASEAN would create new export and investment opportunities amid Mexico’s diversification efforts. They highlighted Jalisco's potential for cooperation in high-tech manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical tourism, and creative industries, tourism, and culture.
At the ASEAN–Jalisco Business Forum, Miguel Ángel Landeros Volquarts, President of COMCE West, underscored the significance of the ASEAN diplomats’ visit in promoting cooperation in economics, trade, culture, and education, helping Jalisco and Mexico diversify export markets and attract more foreign investment.
With the participation of numerous government agencies and local enterprises, the forum provided ASEAN ambassadors with an opportunity to present each country’s investment potential. Both sides agreed that cooperation prospects between ASEAN and Jalisco are broad, especially in agriculture, tourism, and foreign investment.
The visit to Jalisco follows previous ACMC missions to Nuevo León, Durango, Querétaro, and Quintana Roo, marking another step in bringing ASEAN closer to Mexico’s localities.
The initiative not only strengthens ASEAN–Mexico friendship but also opens a new chapter in interregional cooperation where Jalisco’s spirit of innovation meets ASEAN’s aspiration for global partnership./.
