SOLIDARITY WITH OTHER NATIONS SHOULD BE AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR INTERNATIONAL ROLE

• The Foreign Secretary spoke at the “Municipal Agenda for Mexico" session of the 2013 Annual Conference of Municipalities.

Foreign Secretary José Antonio Meade spoke at the 2013 Annual Conference of Municipalities today. At the meeting, held in Mexico City, the Foreign Secretary said that, for Mexico to be an actor with global responsibility, we must be aware that solidarity with other nations is an increasingly important part of our international role.

During the session on "A Municipal Agenda for Mexico," the Foreign Secretary said that the country’s political dialogue should be strengthened to consolidate the bilateral relationship in regions where we have a presence, and we should be more efficient in promoting economic activities, tourism and culture.

He said that, in a globalized world, strengthening and deepening Mexico's international relations calls for joint action from the federal, state and municipal governments. He stressed that the Foreign Ministry is aware of the important role played by federal diplomacy in local development, and of the weight of local governments in Mexico’s global activities.

The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) can help enhance the role of local governments in international affairs. AMEXCID is a decentralized agency of the Foreign Ministry that coordinates development cooperation policy and efficiently liaises between Mexico and the world.

He said that the Foreign Ministry, through the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME), works with other federal agencies on programs that protect and assist the development of our citizens. In this area, coordination with municipal governments is vitally important.

"We believe that the active and clear participation of municipalities is the key to creating domestic cooperation programs and to designing public development policies that begin at the municipal level and end up at the federal level,” he said, highlighting the fact that municipalities can count on the Foreign Ministry as an ally that will help them with tools for international cooperation that have a direct impact and public policies that have a multiplier effect at the local level.