President Lee: "Korea-Mexico trade agreement essential; dialogue channel on crude oil and critical resources"

【Financial News, Mexico City (Mexico) — Choi Jong-geun, reporter】President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, agreeing on the need for a trade agreement between the two countries and deciding to expand cooperation in the defense industry as Mexico pursues military modernization. Lee also proposed producing Korean defense technologies locally in Mexico and jointly entering third-country markets. The two sides agreed to work together to build stable supply chains for key resources, including crude oil and critical minerals. They further upgraded their strategic partnership, centered on trade and defense, by concluding seven years of negotiations to revise the investment guarantee agreement and signing an MOU on defense cooperation.
During his state visit to Mexico, President Lee made the remarks in a joint press statement after holding a summit with President Sheinbaum at the National Palace in Mexico City on the 24th (local time). The two leaders adopted the 2026–2030 Korea-Mexico Joint Action Plan, which outlines a blueprint for future bilateral cooperation, and signed a total of 17 MOUs covering the economy, development cooperation, science and technology, defense and public security.
On trade, the two sides agreed on the need to conclude a trade agreement and decided to continue follow-up discussions. President Lee stated, "Above all, I said that concluding a trade agreement is essential to expand trade and investment between our two countries and create a stable business environment." He added, "We will jointly consider how to build a more mutually beneficial economic cooperation relationship by conducting a study of shared interests between the trade authorities of both countries."
The negotiations, which the two countries had pursued for seven years to revise their investment guarantee agreement, were also finally concluded on the occasion of the summit. President Lee said, "Our two countries have finally and successfully concluded the negotiations to revise the investment guarantee agreement, which had continued for seven years." He added, "We agreed to work together so that the revised agreement can enter into force as soon as possible after completing the necessary procedures, including signing and approval by the National Assembly."
The export-import banks of the two countries will also establish a $100 million on-lending facility. President Lee explained that this will ensure that "Mexican companies purchasing goods and services from Korean companies, as well as Korean companies that have invested in Mexico, can receive financial support more smoothly."
In the energy and supply-chain sectors, President Lee emphasized, "We agreed to launch a dialogue channel between the relevant ministries of the two countries to discuss crude oil and critical resources." He thanked Mexico for helping Korean companies secure additional crude oil supplies following a telephone call between the two leaders in May, saying, "I appreciate your agreement to continue cooperation in the future so that we can ensure stable crude oil imports."
President Sheinbaum also emphasized the economic complementarity between the two countries. She noted that bilateral trade exceeded $27 billion last year, making Korea one of Mexico's five largest trading partners and Mexico Korea's largest trading partner in Latin America. She also said that more than 2,000 Korean companies operate in Mexico and that the two sides had agreed to link the industrial capabilities of Korean companies with Plan Mexico, the country's national development strategy, to enhance the productive capacity of small and microenterprises.
Defense cooperation will also move forward in earnest. The two leaders agreed to explore ways Korea could contribute to Mexico's ongoing military modernization. President Lee said, "We also agreed to explore ways Korea can contribute to Mexico's ongoing military modernization." He added, "Through the MOU on defense cooperation signed this time, we will substantially expand exchanges in various areas, including the sharing of experience, education, training and research and development in the defense sector."
In particular, President Lee said, "I asked President Sheinbaum for her special attention and support so that Korea's advanced defense technologies can lead to local production in Mexico, contribute to strengthening Mexico's defense industry capabilities, and enable our two countries to jointly enter third-country markets."

President Lee had earlier proposed the Korean-made FA-50 light attack aircraft as a cooperation model for Mexico's Air Force modernization project in an interview with Mexico's El Universal. He also mentioned the possibility of technology transfers and local production. Attention is now focused on whether related discussions will take concrete shape following the MOU on defense cooperation.
The two countries will also expand cooperation into advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology and aerospace. President Lee explained, "This is a way to link the strategic industries that our government considers important with the development of new industries pursued by Plan Mexico, Mexico's economic development strategy." The Korean government and businesses will form a public-private delegation and visit Mexico in November to discuss cooperation projects in AI and digital technology.
President Lee also said, "The two countries have established specific cooperation frameworks and implementation plans in various areas affecting people's livelihoods, including public security, agriculture and anti-corruption, where we can share our respective expertise." He added, "We have built an institutional foundation for cooperation against transnational crimes such as online fraud, human trafficking and drugs." He further emphasized, "Interest in culture is also growing rapidly," adding, "We agreed to continue discussing the establishment of related facilities in Mexico so that the Mexican people can experience K-culture more often and more easily." He stressed, "We will establish a working group within this year to create an environment for joint content production between the two countries."
President Sheinbaum identified future mobility, AI, digital technology, science and higher education as promising areas of cooperation. She expressed hope that combining Korea's industrial capabilities with Mexico's strategic geographic location could further enhance the competitiveness of both countries.
Meanwhile, the meeting with Mexican business leaders held on the occasion of the summit was attended by major business group heads, including Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of SK Group; Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group; and Koo Ja-eun, chairman of LS Group. Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Electronics, and Song Ho-sung, president of Kia, were also present.
Lee Kye-in, president of POSCO International; Scott Park, vice chairman and CEO of Doosan Bobcat; Kim Seung-hwan, CEO of Amorepacific; and Cho Yong-cheol, CEO of Nongshim, also attended.
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter