By LEE CHI-DONG
July 1, 2010
The FTA talks between the two countries started in 2007 but came to a halt a year later due to backlash from Mexico's business community.
Lee pointed out that as South Korea and Mexico have complementary economies, their FTA will be mutually beneficial.
Mexico is South Korea's largest trading partner in Latin America, and South Korea is Mexico's sixth biggest. Their two-way trade volume totaled US$8.1 billion in 2009. More than 1,400 South Korean firms operate in Mexico, mostly engaged in the manufacturing of electronic goods, steel and automobile parts, and employ about 40,000 local workers.
The leaders, however, failed to reach a deal on a specific timeline for resuming the FTA talks.
It would take more time for "substantial progress," Lee's spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing.
Lee requested that the Mexican government allow South Korean companies to participate in international bidding for its public projects before the FTA is signed, breaking its practice of opening the bids only to firms from countries with which it has FTAs, according to the spokeswoman.
Calderon promised to take various needed measures, she added.
Lee and Calderon also agreed to boost cooperation between the two nations in the fields of efficient use of electricity and other energy and renewable energy development, according to their 36-point joint statement.
"The two sides agreed that energy and infrastructure sectors have a bright prospect for bilateral cooperation," the statement read.
In particular, Lee expressed hope for closer cooperation in areas of nuclear energy, plant construction, transportation, infrastructure and information and technology.
Lee also unveiled a plan to set up a Korean culture center in Mexico in 2012 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
The Mexican president expressed support for the results of a multinational probe that found North Korea responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors, the document read.
"The leaders agreed that the international community should take stern measures to prevent North Korea from escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula through provocative acts or statements, and agreed on close cooperation between their countries," it read.
In a meeting with a group of South Korean and Mexican business leaders later in the day, Lee said South Korea hopes to actively take part in Mexico's future nuclear power plant construction projects.
"In connection with the nuclear power plant, a clean energy source, I think there is a big possibility of cooperation between the two nations," Lee said.
Both South Korea and Mexico have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from its 2020 "business-as-usual" (BAU) level.
The two countries agreed to help each other in South Korea's hosting of a G-20 economic summit in November and Mexico's plan to host a U.N. climate conference later in the year, Lee said.
