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Secretary of Finance of Mexico Presents Country’s Economic and Social Progress at the OAS

The Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, Luis Videgaray, today made a presentation at the Organization of American States (OAS), in which he spoke of the importance that Mexico assigns to the hemispheric Organization "as a vehicle to promote closer ties” between his country and the region and discussed the country’s efforts to foster economic and social growth.

The event, attended by the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, the Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin and the Permanent Representatives of the member countries, was the first visit of a Secretary of Finance of Mexico to the body and served as a way to review recent progress in the country.

In welcoming Secretary Videgaray, Secretary General Insulza stressed the important role of Mexico in the region and its contribution to economic development. He recalled that "the last decade was characterized by a remarkable growth in Latin America and the Caribbean which was driven in part by favorable external conditions that led to a growth in the export of raw materials and availability of grater sources of credit." "In recent years it was possible to make significant progress in the areas of trade, investment and exports, which has resulted in sustained growth in several countries in the region," he said.

In this regard, Secretary General Insulza noted that Mexico has provided a good example of how the promotion of agreements on issues like trade and investment can generate a positive impact, which, accompanied by appropriate public policies in education and technology and research promotion can make a positive impact on the local and national economic growth.

In his address Secretary Videgaray recalled that the government of his country has prioritized promotion of "a renewed relationship with the rest of the Americas” and to bring Mexico closer to Latin America through cooperative and economic integration efforts such as the Pacific Alliance.

Referring to the OAS as a facilitator in this effort, Secretary Videgaray said "Mexico believes in Latin America as a region of opportunity and fairness and this institution is undoubtedly the best vehicle to promote an integrated approach and a useful and productive relationship."

Secretary Videgaray focused his presentation on the achievements Mexico has achieved in economic and social matters in recent years and referred to the process of transformation and reforms the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto has undertaken. He commented that these transformations are based on key objectives such as the consolidation of democratic institutions and their credibility and autonomy and achieving inclusive economic growth "with social meaning and that benefits the majority."

He specifically discussed the challenges faced by national companies in terms of access to credit and markets, competition, investment, and use of natural resources, stating that the policies promoted by the government seek to generate more jobs, attract investment, promote social inclusion and equity and make the best use of natural resources so that they can benefit the majority of Mexicans.

"The process of economic reforms have in common the democratization of growth and productivity; helping all industries become productive," said the Mexican finance chief, who also referred to the reforms of labor, tax, economy and energy that are currently underway in that nation. "Each of these reforms have been made through dialogue and generating substantive agreements, they are centered on the value of democracy and are reforms that will lead to a better future for Mexican families," he said.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS, Ambassador Emilio Rabasa said that the visit of the Secretary to the OAS "is a clear sign of the importance that the Mexican government gives this institution of hemispheric dialogue, coordination and cooperation." He added that although the OAS has gone through times of crisis, its actions respond to the effectiveness and relevance it still has and recalled that the entity "does not stop in its efforts to develop high impact programs for the region on issues as diverse as counterterrorism, combating the drug problem, crime prevention, training, election observation and conflict resolution," among others.

He also recalled the proposal made by Secretary General Insulza noting that "the OAS is in a process of transformation, which aims to define a new Strategic Vision that sets its direction for the twenty-first century in a context characterized by the extension and the preservation of democracy as the only legitimate form of government, the promotion and defense of human rights, integral development and a multidimensional approach to security, pillars on which our organization is based," said the Mexican diplomat.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-Roll of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-144/14