India and Mexico have decided to explore the possibility of entering into a Preferential Trade Agreement to improve the bilateral trade, which stood at $1.6 billion at the end of 2006.
"The high level group n Trade Investment and Economic Cooperation that will be set up to ease the flow of trade and investment between the two countries will also look at the possibility of a PTA," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said in New Delhi.
Speaking after signing a memorandum of understanding with Mexican Economy Minister Eduardo Sojo Garza-Aldape, he said the potential of Mexico as a gateway to North America was enormous.
India was reaching out to all the countries and it has already signed PTA with Mercosur, a grouping of Latin American countries, Nath said.
Technical-level team of both countries would be meeting soon to identify impediments in trade
and investment between two countries, he said. The formal meeting of the group would be held in the next few months.
The HLG will be co-chaired from the Indian side by minister of commerce and industry and the secretary of economy from Mexico or by their representatives. It will meet once a year alternatively in India and Mexico.
Inviting Indian investments, the Mexican minister said his country has Free Trade Agreements with 44 countries and by setting up a base there, companies can have preferential access to economies which account for 70 per cent of the world's GDP.
He assured to look into the problems faced by Indian businessmen in obtaining long-term visas to Mexico. "The issue will be sorted out in next two-three months," Sojo said.
Bilateral trade between India and Mexico increased from $251 million in 1999 to $1.5 billion in 2006.