Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 16
Trend:
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of Mexico to the Republic of Azerbaijan Rodrigo Labardini has received Caspian Energy’s delegation headed by President and Editor-in-Chief of the Caspian Energy International Media Group Natalya Aliyeva.
During the meeting the sides discussed possibilities of expansion of contacts at the informational level within the Caspian European Club (Caspian Business Club) and Caspian Energy International Media Group, as well as possibilities of participation of the Mexican companies in the international Caspian Energy Forum to be held in Baku on December 7.
Labardini expressed interest in promoting recognition of the Mexican companies within the events arranged by the Caspian European Club (Caspian Business Club).
The ambassador noted that the transportation facilities and advantageous geographic location helped Mexico to develop an export-oriented economy. Likewise, as an important transportation hub, Azerbaijan possesses a big potential to develop an economy that would be competitive on the world markets.
He added that Mexico recognized Azerbaijan in 1991 and established formal relations on January 14, 1992. Azerbaijan opened its Embassy in Mexico in 2007, but it was a little more than 2 years until 2009, when the first resident ambassador arrived in Mexico.
“Mexico’s embassy in Azerbaijan opened a little later in 2014, and the first Mexican resident ambassador, myself, I arrived last year,” he added. “This points to the importance we have for Azerbaijan.”
“We know this is the most important country in the Caucasus and the region”, ambassador noted.
“In one year we have been able to do lots of things and there is still a lot more to do,” he said. “We have tried simply to make people aware that Mexico exists and making Mexicans aware that Azerbaijan exists. And we moved even beyond.”
Touching trade relations, the ambassador stressed that the most significant increase in exports from Mexico was during 2014-2015, which was impulse by the opening of the Embassy of Mexico in Azerbaijan and its constant work to promote commerce between the two countries.
“The data from Azerbaijan demonstrate a 211.72 percent increase in Mexican exports (from 7.1 million dollars in 2014 to $22.2 million in 2015). The data from Mexico show an exponential increase of 107.4 percent (from $877,000 in 2014 to $10.2 million in 2015) in only one year”, the ambassador said.
“We are both oil-gas producers and we can share experience and knowledge how to do this,” he said while speaking about cooperation in the oil-gas industry. “Both countries have an experience in deepwater drilling. A Mexican oil delegation came here in July and they were able to speak with several oil institutions here. They met and they started to talk in their own languages: upstream, corrosion, downstream, etc. Thus, we are sure that there will be some kind of cooperation between these institutions.”
“There are also other areas in which we can exchange experience”, he emphasized.
The ambassador brought tourism as an example.
“Mexico is one of the most visited country in the world,” he said. “We had over 32 mln visitors in 2015. The tourism is about 9 percent of Mexican GDP. Mexico is also the first destination of the world in terms of luxury tourism. Azerbaijan is now trying to develop tourism as well and we can share and learn experience in this area.”
At the end of the meeting the ambassador gave an exclusive interview to Caspian Energy. In the course of the interview he touched the possibilities of development of bilateral relations, expansion of the economic and investment cooperation, spoke about prospects of development of the energy market, also touched the issues of development of the tourism sector and energy cooperation.