Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand hosted Mexican Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco in Ottawa this week where the two discussed strengthening trade and defence relations.
The meeting comes just a few weeks after the July 1 deadline for reviewing the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) lapsed, and as Mexico has advanced further in talks with the U.S. administration than Canada.
Anand told reporters on July 17 that it was “very difficult” to compare the progress of U.S.-Mexico trade talks with those involving Canada because Ottawa and Mexico City are negotiating different issues with Washington.
“But the starting point for Canada is very much that with both the United States and Mexico, the trade and investment relationship is fundamentally important, and we are committed to protecting and strengthening those relationships, both bilaterally and trilaterally,” she said….