Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi agreed with his Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco to reinforce bilateral cooperation in such fields as economic security, energy, science and technology, at a meeting held on Monday in Mexico City.

During telephone talks between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in April, both sides agreed that Japan would import 1 million barrels of Mexican crude oil in response to the Middle East conflict. The agreement was carried out by July, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

At Monday's meeting, Motegi and Velasco agreed to continue and strengthen cooperation in the energy sector and confirmed that they would hold their first meeting on economic security by the end of March 2027.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has refused to extend the North American trade pact -- the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) -- in its current form. Motegi and Velasco agreed to cooperate in minimizing the impact on the more than 1,600 Japan-affiliated companies operating in Mexico by improving their business environment.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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