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President H.E. Lic. Vicente Fox concludes visit to Belize

GeneralPresident H.E. Lic. Vicente Fox concludes visit to Belize


With a population of 105 million?almost 400 times that of Belize and more than 3 times the whole of Central America?s population?Mexico is a formidable giant in our world of trade. Still, the Belize private sector is hopeful that a reenergized alliance between Belize and Mexico could boost the earnings of local enterprises, provided that Mexico truly opens its mega-market to local producers and service providers.


Immediately, though, there is the plan to introduce the Pemex oil franchise to Belize. Details of the deal continue to be sketchy.


Both President Fox and Belize Prime Minister, Hon. Said Musa, announced the Pemex deal as still in the negotiation phase, but all indications are that the parties are pressing towards an early implementation of the franchise in Belize.


A joint communiqu? released by the Government of Belize after President Fox?s visit said, ?They [Fox and Musa] expressed their satisfaction at the progress of the project for the installation of the Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) franchise in Belize. In this regard, the President of Mexico stated that PEMEX is open to continue negotiations with investors interested in this project.?


On the web, however, we found a number of news reports, including reports posted by Forbes/Associated Press and Business News Americas, saying that the timeline for bringing Pemex to Belize is two months.


?Briefing reporters about that trip [to Belize], Miguel Hakim, the Foreign Department?s deputy secretary for Latin America, said a Belizean Pemex franchise, controlled by private business interests from Mexico and Belize, could be running in the next two months,? said the AP/Forbes report, dated Monday, June 27.


We posed the question to Dr. Louis Zabaneh, the Belize private sector spokesperson at the Belize-Mexico business mixer, held on Tuesday, on the occasion of the delegation?s visit. Dr. Zabaneh, a member of the Belize Business Bureau (BBB), told us that the Belize and Mexico officials told the business people just what they had told the media in a prior press conference, that the Pemex deal was still being worked out.


We asked whether he got the impression that the franchise could come on stream as early as two months, as had been reported in the international press. He replied that that could be the case, and the impression created was that it was something that they are pushing a.s.a.p. Still, he said, there were no specifics discussed about the Pemex deal.


Mexico?s plan, according to the international reports, is to push its Pemex franchise into the entire Central American region, starting with Belize and Honduras.


The president of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Arturo ?Tux? Vasquez, told Amandala today that what Belizeans could expect to get from Pemex coming to Belize is perhaps lower prices.


?If not, we could easily say it won?t benefit the country, but benefit individuals,? he remarked.


Vasquez informed that during the course of the business meetings, from which the private sector media was excluded, Belize and Mexico private sector representatives penned a collaborative agreement, out of which they expect that stronger trade ties and commercial linkages would grow between Belize and Mexico, in areas such as agriculture, industry and tourism.


Still, Vasquez seemed to be taking a careful approach, and he remarked that it is yet to be seen where the relationship is headed.


Vasquez opined: ?There is nothing to lose with it. I think it is a huge market. If we are doing unregulated business, we can now better tap into the market. We were visited by the highest person in Mexico. Whatever discussions our Prime Minister and others had are with a view to furthering our relations with Mexico.?


The collaborative agreement, according to Vasquez, was between the Mexican Council for Foreign Trade Investment and Technical – Consejo Mexicano de Comercio Exterior (COMCE) and the BCCI. He said that the agreement has its roots in September 20, 1991 agreement between COMCE?s predecessor, the Mexican Business Council for Business Affairs, and the BCCI.


Apart from discussing the introduction of Pemex into Belize, the Belize reps also discussed reciprocating trade with Mexico, where they hope to market livestock, fisheries products, etc., so that Belize could expand beyond its mainly buy-and-sell trade relationship with Mexico.


Vasquez said that Belize is a critical gateway for Mexico to both the Central American and Caribbean regions, and this was the impetus for Mexico?s offer to help Belize build two bridges, one on the Belize-Mexico border at Santa Elena, Corozal, and another inside Corozal, to connect the Sarteneja area to Corozal Town.


Vasquez said that Mexico had declined an invitation from the region to become a part of the Federation of Central American Chambers of Commerce (FECAMCO).


?The main reason,? he said, ?is that Mexico is extremely huge. They really thought their Chamber was really bigger than that whole organization??


He said that we have to look at the balance of trade between Belize and Mexico.


?I think that the Mexican interest is really, when they look at these agreements with Belize, it has to do with the whole Plan Puebla Panama coming through? We are a gateway,? he said.


President Fox proposed the PPP program in 2001, and according to information posted on the IDB?s website, it is a proposal that includes 8 Meso-American countries?Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Mexico, particularly the Southeastern states of Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatan?a market of 64 million inhabitants over a million square kilometers.


The main goal is to promote regional integration, under programs that focus on social and economic growth in Southeast Mexico and on the Central American isthmus.


?We don?t have a choice in joining. We?ve already signed. We have to work hand-to-hand with [Mexico],? said Vasquez, adding that we need to see the move as a positive thing.


Dr. Zabaneh, a member of the Belize Business Bureau and the managing director of MayaLands Produce Ltd., described the visit of the Mexican delegation as a landmark visit.


Zabaneh, who was the private sector spokesperson at the business mixer on Tuesday, said in his presentation that, ?Even though our imports from Mexico were 4.4 times that of our exports to Mexico in the first five months of 2005, there has been improvement as compared to the whole of 2004, when that figure was 19.2 times. The gap has been narrowed, although still very large, due mainly to increased exports of our shrimp to your country.?


He also spoke of ties in the areas of agriculture and tourism, and said the Belizean livestock producers were eager to export into Mexico.


He further remarked that 2% of this year?s exports of tilapia went to Mexico, and there is more potential for Belize?s tilapia in Mexico.


Zabaneh?s company exports papayas only to the United States, but hopes to be able to tap into the Mexican market with products such as dehydrated fruits, jams and possibly some fresh fruit products.


Other speakers at the business mixer, from which the free press again was excluded, were Rend?n Monforte, a leading businessman of Quintana Roo and president of Consejo Consultivo from Quintana Roo, PM Musa and President Fox.


During his presentation, Rend?n Monforte announced that the Mexican private sector was interested in investing US$40 million in the Belize tourism industry, said Zabaneh.


Also among those present at the meeting were BBB president, Dr. Cardo Martinez; Belize Tourism Board director, Tracey Taegar Panton; Maria Elena Sylvestre of the American Chamber of Commerce; Orlando Habet of the Belize Livestock Producers Association; Peter Dyck, representing the Mennonite community; and Lourdes Smith of the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE), who spearheaded the mixer.


According to a joint communiqu? of both states, released by the Belize Government, President Fox and Prime Minister Musa ?reviewed the progress of the bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the friendly ties that exist through continued political dialogue, the strengthening of economic and trade linkages, and enhanced technical cooperation.


?They emphasized that relations between Mexico and Belize are based on common values and interests, such as the respect for human rights, the strengthening of democracy, cooperation and integration, as well as the shared aspirations to achieve higher levels of development and well-being.


?Both leaders were informed of the progress made in the border delimitation exercise, and reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation and negotiations with a view to the signing of a boundary treaty?.


?They emphasized that the establishment of the High Level Mexico-Belize Border Security Group (GANSEF) will allow for the institutional and political conditions necessary to guarantee that the shared border will constitute an environment where security, commerce, immigration and sustainable development are possible, and they indicated that through the bilateral cooperation that is displayed within the GANSEF framework, Belize and Mexico will be better able to successfully handle challenges and threats such as illegal immigration, international terrorism and drug trafficking.?


Through the state-owned Commission Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico supplies over 50% of Belize?s energy needs through the Belize Electricity Limited, controlled by the Canadian establishment, Fortis Inc.


Currently, BEL and CFE are negotiating a new agreement to succeed the one due to expire in 2006. According to the joint communiqu? GOB has released on President Fox?s visit, both parties ?emphasized their interest and willingness to sign a new power purchase contract for electricity between the Federal Electricity Commission and Belize Electricity Limited, in terms beneficial to both parties.?

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