Mexico, Britain agree to strengthen trade ties

MEXICO (Xinhua) -- The governments of Mexico and Britain agreed on Tuesday to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the common goal of the two countries is to double the bilateral trade flow to more than 6.8 billion U.S. dollars by 2015.

"The objective is to double the trade in the next years," Clegg said at a joint press conference held with Calderon.

Clegg arrived in Mexico late Monday for an official visit until Wednesday, accompanied by delegates from some 20 British companies. He believed the goal is realistic.

Annual trade between the two countries grew by 50 percent to 3 billion U.S dollars from 2001 to 2009, but Britain represented less than 1 percent of Mexico's total foreign trade, said Calderon.

Clegg also praised Calderon for his courage in waging the war against drug cartels and narcotics trafficking, which has killed over 35,000 people in Mexico since Calderon took power in 2006.

"We want to reiterate our admiration for the courage that both you and your government has manifested in order to fight against the organized crime and drug-trafficking," said Clegg.

Source: English.news.cn