Mexican President Vicente Fox on Tuesday met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and asked Japan to take steps towards setting up a free trade agreement (FTA) with his country.
"I believe a free trade agreement is important to build a strategic alliance between the two nations," Fox told Koizumi Tuesday, according to a Japanese diplomat who attended the meeting.
"Mexico can become a bridge between Japan and the United States and Canada," Fox told Koizumi. "It could also become a bridge to Europe and Latin America."
Koizumi, however, only gave a lukewarm response.
"I believe it is important to study (Japan-Mexico ties) holistically among businesses, academics and government agencies, including the possibility of forming a free trade agreement," Koizumi told Fox, the diplomat said.
Koizumi did not specify when the study group would be set up, the diplomat added.
Fox arrived in Tokyo Tuesday morning for a 24-hour official visit that included a meeting with Emperor Akihito.
It is Fox's first trip to Japan since taking office on December 1 last year and comes as Mexico hopes to conclude a free trade agreement with Japan by 2003.
Earlier in the day Fox called on Japanese businesses to invest in his country and help enhance trade ties between the two nations.
"Today, we have a new government in Mexico -- a business government ... that is very clear about stability, not just political stability but also economic stability," Fox said in a speech to business leaders.
"We are working on structural changes so that we open up more opportunities for investments," he said at a business forum co-hosted by the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Mexican embassy in Tokyo.
Keidanren is Japan's biggest business lobby.
Among Japanese advocates of the FTA was Honda Motor Co. advisor Nobuhiko Kawamoto, who is the chairman of Keidanren's Japan-Mexico economic committee.
"Unfortunately, the efforts (towards agreeing an FTA) of the Japanese government have been lagging behind," Kawamoto said in a speech -- TOKYO (AFP)
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