墨西哥駐香港總領事 Alicia Buenrostro Massieu大使在國慶招待會上致辭

墨西哥駐香港總領事 Alicia Buenrostro Massieu大使在國慶招待會上致辭
Speech of the Consul General, Amb. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu at the Mexico's National Day Reception

Members of the Consular Corps in Hong Kong and Macao
Members of the Mexican community
Friends of Mexico
Ladies and gentlemen ,

On the eve of September 15 & 16, 2013, Mexicans all over the world commemorated the CCIII Anniversary of the Independence of Mexico. Over more than 200 years, Mexico has evolved into a dynamic country and an emerging economy of more than 115 million people, proud of its origins, history, culture and traditions. Mexico’s moment as a modern and prosperous democracy is coming.

I really value your presence here tonight, especially after typhoon USANI just passed through Hong Kong. We are also very encouraged to see that Mexico is quickly recovering, after tropical storms Ingrid and Manuel hit the country few days ago, in which both government and society are playing their parts.

For 2013, the Consulate has thought of a more diverse format of celebrations, ranging from this evening, to a very successful culinary festival featuring Chef Juan Miguel Prada. And since music is also very important in our culture, on Thursday, City Hall will be hosting the concert Ode to Peace featuring Esteban Alvarez. Both stars, Juan Miguel and Esteban have generously agreed to be present this evening through their art: gastronomy and music. I hope you enjoy it.

Mexico is on a transformational path. The nine-month old government of President Peña Nieto has embarked on an aggressive agenda of reforms, from the telecommunications industry to education and finance, to the energy sector.

Just in transport and communications infrastructure investment, Mexico has announced a program for six years until 2018, under which the government will allocate US$300 billion for building highways, railway, ports, airports and telecommunications infrastructure. There are good opportunities for foreign investment in energy and mining, which were previously closed to foreign investment. We would be delighted to see Chinese and Hong Kong capitals taking advantages of these opportunities.

President Peña Nieto has identified some pillars in the conduction of our current foreign policy, among them, to strengthen Mexico’s presence in the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

A signal of this is shown in the way in which the Mexico-China relations have evolved in recent months. We have been building up the momentum to re-launch a strategic bilateral relationship, particularly after the successful visits of President Peña Nieto to Hong Kong and China, last April -the very first visit of a Mexican Head of State to this SAR since 1997-; and the State Visit of President Xi Jinping to Mexico last June, also the first State Visit in the Government of President Peña Nieto.

Since then, the Mexico-China relations have made remarkable progress. Turning competition of each other into complementary advantages, links have been upgraded to take full advantage on trade, investment and cooperation. Last September 4th within the G-20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, both presidents held their third meeting in six months, and it is expected that President Peña Nieto pays a State Visit to China in 2014.

Already, Sino-Mexican political dialogue has translated into an immediate and positive impact over the exchanges and cooperation between representatives of government, business, education, and cultural sectors from Mexico and China. As a token, Secretary So and Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, met during my President’s visit to Hong Kong in April, and days later in Surabaya, Indonesia, within APEC. A few weeks ago, Mexico’s Minister of Tourism visited this SAR, with the commitment of reaching out to an important number of potential Hong Kong and Chinese tourists to Mexico. The visit was crowned by the announcement of Cathay Pacific on the launching of its new freighter service to Guadalajara, Mexico. By doing so, this world class airline would be entering for the very first time into Latin America, offering more choices, flexibility and an invaluable connection to Cathay’s international network. It would also mean that merchandises like auto-parts, electronics, garments and perishable foods can be flown directly between Mexico, Latin and North America, as well as Asia.

Only last week, representatives from the National Tourism Fund came to Hong Kong and Macao, to attend the Global Tourism Economic Forum. I feel very happy as the third edition in 2014 will greatly focus on the tourism potential between Latin America and China.

Looking ahead, why not?, let’s think about the possibility of a free trade agreement with Hong Kong. This has been a topic mentioned in the high level meetings between Mexican and Hong Kong officials, more recently between our Ministers of Tourism and Economy, as well as in a dinner last week where I had the honor to host with Mr. Gregory So as our guest of honor, organized within the Septiembre Mexicano Activities.

Likewise, the Consulate General supported the very first visits of important business missions to Mexico of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, headed by its Executive Director last August, and that of the Director-General of Invest HK, in February. Furthermore, Mexico kept steady attendance to Hong Kong’s fairs and exhibitions such as the International Travel Expo, Food Expo, Asia Fruit Logistica and for the second time, to the Wine and Spirits Fair, and in 2014 we will work on visits for the Chief Secretary for Administration, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, as well as high profile businesspeople, like Pansy Ho.

The importance my country is giving to China and Hong Kong is also reflected in the way in which the Consulate General has been reinforced with the designation of additional staff who will contribute to its main task of promoting more trade and investment: Ms. Susana Muñoz, from the Ministry of Economy, and Mr. Héctor Martinez Elizondo, PROMEXICO. In addition, Mexcham (The Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong) gained its status as the first Latin American chamber registered in this SAR in 2012. Already the chamber has shown its muscle, especially through a great promoter who is here with us tonight, Mr. Germán Muñoz, and become a great ally of our work, enhancing the presence of Mexico in Asia’s World City.

Last but not least, Mexico and Hong Kong societies are getting closer in the cultural and education fields. There is a mutual interest in discovering each other. For the first time, besides Café Punta del Cielo, tequila Alacrán and Mexico-California Abalone luxury brands like Pineda Covalín are present in Hong Kong, as well as Mexican Wine Monte Xanic and the Kanté Products that include a variety of gourmet essences such as vanilla with agave nectar, or 100% avocado oil, or gourmet spicy sauce.

There is also a Mexico-Hong Kong momentum visible in the growing interest in Mexican art, music, gastronomy, tourism, language (Spanish), and film industry. Precisely, on September 27, we will screen a Mexican movie in the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Every term, we witness an increase in the number of Mexican and Hong Kong students taking full time or getting into an exchange university program. In this regard, the support of universities, such as PolyU and Lingnan has been invaluable. The knowledge of Mexico amongst Hong Kong people, especially youngsters, is one of the most robust and noble ways to make this momentum grow and endure.

We will keep on working with the Hong Kong Government, universities and companies and entrepreneurs, as well as our dynamic Mexican community established in this SAR, to keep the momentum of the Mexico-China relationship and seize the opportunity for Mexico and Hong Kong to become true bridges to Latin America and North America, and China, respectively.

Salud ¡Qué Viva México!