MINING IN MEXICO S - ProMéxico

14 Negocios i The Lifestyle
Photos Courtesy of The British Embassy in Mexico
UK is in the Mood for Trading
BY GRAEME STEWART
Like two shy teenagers whose eyes meet across
a crowded ballroom, Mexico and Great Britain
had been coyly skirting around the dance floor
of greater economic co-operation for years. The
interest between the couple was obvious but something
had to be done to bring them together.
Then, in 2009, President Felipe Calderón
was invited on a State Visit to London that
would act as an ice breaker in the hopes that
the British Lion and the Mexican Eagle would
soon be tripping the light fantastic to the tune
of increased bilateral trade.
The State Visit was a great success with
both families, the Calderons and Britain’s Royals,
getting on famously, so much so that Prince
Andrew, the Duke of York, who also happens
to be the British special envoy for trade, was
invited to Mexico in February 2010. Using his
undeniable charm, the third child of Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip flirted with and
wooed the Mexican business community with
tales of improved economic prosperity for both
countries through greater trade and investment.
At long last, the dance had begun. True, its
pace is more that of a sedate waltz than a hot
blooded tango but the tempo will increase later
this year with the visit to Mexico of Boris Johnson,
Lord Mayor of London, who, like a loving
uncle, will press the marriage of the blushing
couple, for richer or even richer.
In this article, Judith Macgregor, Great
Britain’s ambassador to Mexico, gives her take
on the proposed increase in trade and investment
between the two countries.
There was great excitement at the British Embassy
in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc district as
Prince Andrew, the UK’s special representative
for international commerce and investment,
was due to arrive at any minute.
But Judith Macgregor, Great Britain’s ambassador
to Mexico, took time out to discuss
her country’s hopes of greater trade between
the two countries.
Slipping her tall, elegant frame on to a
comfortable seat, she said: “I suppose that both
Britain and Mexico have rather ignored each
other in terms of bilateral trade. Certainly,
the figures of trade and investment could and
probably should be much higher. That is something
we intend to remedy.”
“It wasn’t always like this,” she asserted. “In
the 19th Century British miners and engineers
came to Mexico in their droves, bringing their
expertise for the benefit of the relatively new
nation of Mexico. Then, in the 20th Century,
the US superceded all other countries in trade
and investment with Mexico. But now UK
Trade and Investment has launched an aggressive
push for greater economic co-operation
between the two countries. In fact, it has been
a priority for us for the past two years but it is
now being handled much more forcefully.”
“It really took off last year when President
Felipe Calderón was invited on a State visit to
Britain. Prince Andrew accompanied him on
a visit to Aberdeen to view the UK’s oil capital
and the two seemed to hit it off well, so it was
natural that the Prince, as the UK’s special
representative for commerce and internatio-