Mexico City (VNA) – Mexico's largest left-wing daily La Jornada (🎃The Working Day) on May 3 published an article about the 50th anniversary of Mexico-Vietnam diplomatic relations, highlighting the development of the two countries' friendship and commemorative programmes on this occasion.

According to the article, various activities have been held this month to celebrate the anniversary (May 19, 1975 - 2025). They will contribute to promoting greater interest in the potential for bilateral cooperation in all areas from diplomacy to trade. In the article, Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam Alejandro Negrín Muñoz was quoted as saying that Mexico and Vietnam have many significant similarities. Both countries are emerging middle-sized economies, have influence in the region and are working to reduce poverty and social inequality. Their relationship has been strengthened and flourished over the past time thanks to regular political meetings and dialogues, coordination at multilateral forums, as well as mutual support in the international arena. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting within the framework of the G20 Summit held on November 18, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two sides assessed that there is still ample room to improve the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation and that it is necessary to maintain regular and enhanced cooperation through the mechanisms of the Joint Commission for Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation and political consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Muñoz also said that Mexico and Vietnam have great potential to develop bilateral cooperation in all areas such as politics, economy, trade, investment, as well as cultural and educational cooperation. In particular, bilateral trade ties have grown significantly in recent years thanks to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which both countries are members. According to statistics from the Mexican Secretariat of Economy, two-way trade turnover in 2024 reached about 15 billion USD, an increase of 27.5% over the previous year. Vietnamese enterprises such as Formula Air, VinFast and FPT have created momentum for development and investment in Mexico. However, businesses of the two countries still face institutional and legal obstacles and high logistics costs. Therefore, the two sides need to maintain political dialogue and promote trade and investment in each other's markets. At the end of the article, the author emphasised that Mexico was one of the first Latin American countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, at a time when the Vietnamese people had just won the fight for independence and national reunification. The relationship between Mexico and Vietnam has developed and borne fruit in both economic and cultural fields, based on political dialogue over the past time. La Jornada specifically mentioned a number of activities that the Mexican Embassy in Vietnam will organise to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, including art exhibitions, the launch of the Vietnamese version of "The Wild Book" by writer Juan Villoro, and the promotion of Mexican cuisine in Hanoi./.