Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in Mexico on December 20 and 21.
He will be hosted by the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and will meet with his counterpart, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. With France and Mexico both belonging to the G20 and the OECD, Mr. Le Drian will reaffirm France's wish to promote and champion an effective multilateral system, among other things within the UN Security Council. He will also address regional crises, especially the situations in Haiti and Nicaragua.
Our bilateral cooperation with Mexico will be expanded, particularly in the areas of health, investment and university cooperation.
With Mexico being the first country to join France's PREZODE (Preventing ZOonotic Disease Emergence) initiative to combat pandemics, the minister will underscore France's support for the international El Dorado research laboratory on zoonotic diseases located in Mérida, Yucatan, with the launching of a regional training program for researchers. In Mexico City, Mr. Le Drian will visit the exhibit ?The Greatness of Mexico,? featuring some 30 works loaned by French museums as part of the commemoration of the bicentennial of Mexican independence.
In Monterrey, the Minister will inaugurate France's new Consulate-general. He will meet with Samuel García, the governor of Nuevo León, as well as the business community, including major Mexican investors in France.
He will also attend a signing ceremony for two cooperation agreements with the state of Nuevo León and with the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) aimed at expanding student mobility and the teaching of French. The partnership with the UANL will provide an opportunity to promote the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in the company of France's André-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin, who play for the Tigres UANL soccer club.