Your Excellency President Sheinbaum and the people of Mexico,

On behalf of the people of the Republic of Korea, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the warm welcome extended to my delegation and me here at the National Palace, a place steeped in Mexico’s long history – from the ancient Aztecs to the present day.

Amid growing uncertainty in the international landscape and the restructuring of global supply chains, Mexico is a crucial strategic partner for the Republic of Korea, being one of the world’s largest economies and a key global supply chain base.

Today is Chuseok – the biggest holiday in Korea. On this meaningful and joyful day, I am delighted to announce the adoption at today’s summit of the Korea–Mexico Joint Action Plan 2026–2030, a new roadmap for significantly advancing our bilateral cooperation. 

Going forward, our two countries will continue pursuing cooperation that yields tangible achievements across a wide range of areas, including trade, development cooperation, intellectual property rights, outer space, cultural heritage and education.

Allow me to outline the concrete outcomes of today’s summit.

First, we agreed to strengthen the institutional foundation and bolster links in finance and supply chains to further expand bilateral trade and investment, and explore new opportunities for cooperation.

Our two countries have successfully concluded seven years of negotiations on the modernization of the Agreement of Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments. We also agreed to work toward bringing the modernized agreement into force following the necessary procedures, including signing and National Assembly approval of ratification.

To further facilitate trade, we have established new institutional frameworks to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights and promote information sharing between customs authorities on goods smuggled into our two countries.

We will move swiftly to follow up on these efforts by holding an information session by the end of this year on identifying counterfeit versions of Korean products and a meeting in the first half of next year on preventing the entry of illicit and hazardous goods.

In addition, the export-import banks of our two countries agreed to establish an Interbank Credit Facility in the amount up to USD 100 million, enabling Mexican companies purchasing goods and services from Korean companies, as well as Korean businesses investing in Mexico, to receive financial support.

In the area of supply chains, we agreed to launch a dialogue channel between the relevant ministries of our two countries to discuss crude oil and other critical resources.

Since our telephone conversation in May, President Sheinbaum has provided significant support with helping Korean companies secure additional crude oil supplies.

I once again expressed my gratitude for this support, and we agreed to continue working together on ensuring a stable supply of imported crude oil.

Above all, I emphasized that it is essential for us to conclude an economic agreement in order to expand trade and investment between our two countries and create a stable business environment.

Our respective trade authorities will conduct a Joint Benefit Study on advancing our shared interests and work together to explore ways to build an even more mutually beneficial economic partnership in the years ahead.

President Sheinbaum and I also held in-depth discussions on various proposals raised by Korean companies operating in Mexico.

In particular, we shared the view that the early conclusion of a social security agreement is necessary to ease the burden on companies and employees abroad of having to make pension contributions in both countries. 

Second, we agreed to broaden the horizons of our cooperation to include cutting-edge fields of the future, such as artificial intelligence and digital technology, aerospace and the defense industry.

This will help foster connections between the strategic industries prioritized by my administration and the advancement of new industries envisioned under Mexico’s economic development strategy, “Plan Mexico.”

We agreed to constitute a delegation of government officials and business leaders to visit Mexico this November and discuss ways to accelerate cooperation in AI and digital technologies.

Mexico will serve as the APEC chair in 2028. In line with the Joint Statement on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence, which was adopted today, our two countries will work together on jointly reviewing progress on implementing the APEC AI Initiative, which was adopted in Gyeongju last year.

We will continue to share policies and experiences as we prepare for the AI era.

Through the MOU for the Advancement of the Aerospace Industry, which was signed today, and the “Korea–Mexico Space Day,” which will be held in Mexico this November, we will identify concrete projects with potential for making our aerospace industries more competitive.

President Sheinbaum and I will explore ways for Korea to contribute to Mexico’s ongoing military modernization efforts.

Through the MOU for Cooperation on Defense Matters, which was concluded today, we will share experience in the defense sector and expand exchanges across a wide range of areas, including education, training and research and development.

I trust that President Sheinbaum will provide particular attention and support to facilitate the production of military equipment in Mexico through the application of Korea’s advanced defense technologies, thereby helping strengthen Mexico’s defense industry capabilities and enabling our two countries to jointly enter third-country markets.

Third, we agreed to expand cooperation in culture and education – fields that bring our two peoples closer together – and to lay a foundation for exchanges between members of younger generations.

The exchanges between our peoples, which began 121 years ago with Korean emigration to Mexico, have grown to the point that some 200,000 people now travel between our two countries each year.

Interest in our respective cultures is growing stronger. In particular, the Mexican people have shown remarkable enthusiasm for Korean culture, embracing not only K-pop but also K-beauty and K-food. 

We agreed to continue discussing the establishment of related facilities in Mexico so that Mexicans can readily enjoy more opportunities to experience K-culture.

By the end of this year, we will establish a working group on creating an environment conducive to joint content production between our two countries and cooperate on ways to nurture talented professionals in this field.

Mexico is a leading nation in cultural heritage preservation. We agreed to hold a related symposium next year, bringing together experts from both countries to discuss policy cooperation and share ways to leverage advanced technologies for preserving cultural heritage.

Above all, exchanges between members of younger generations will be a driving force for our two countries’ shared prosperity.

President Sheinbaum proposed establishing an intergovernmental scholarship program to support students from both countries, and we agreed to discuss specific arrangements. 

Fourth, our two countries have established concrete cooperation frameworks and implementation plans for sharing our respective expertise in various areas related to people’s livelihoods – such as citizen protection, agriculture and anti-corruption efforts.

An institutional foundation for cooperation between our law enforcement authorities has been formed to combat transnational crimes, including online fraud, trafficking in persons, and drug-related crimes. We will also work together on citizen protection-related infrastructure and technology.

Moreover, we agreed to launch practical cooperative projects next year to help increase the productivity of small and medium-sized farms in Mexico by adopting Korea’s agricultural technologies.

We will also establish institutional frameworks to strengthen safety management of Mexican seafood exports to Korea and facilitate the efficient issuance of electronic certification for Mexican livestock products.

Integrity in public administration, transparent systems and responsible governance are essential if all that we discussed today is to come to fruition and deliver tangible prosperity.

We two leaders agreed to launch a relevant working group and plan to hold workshops in order to share anti-corruption policies and systems.

Finally, as close partners, our two countries agreed to cooperate more tightly on addressing the international community’s common challenges.

Mexico is a tried-and-true friend with shared values. The Republic of Korea is hosting the G20 Summit in 2028 and welcomes Mexico’s intention to assume the G20 presidency in 2029. We will work together closely to ensure the success of the G20 Summit. 

Moreover, we will continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation at the multilateral level, including through the United Nations, Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and MIKTA. We agreed to further solidify our development cooperation partnership with Mexico, a key donor in Latin America.

President Sheinbaum also reaffirmed her steadfast support for our policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and her commitment to working with us.

Our two nations will continue working closely together for the sake of peace and stability in the international community, including on the Korean Peninsula.

As they say in Spanish, “We are stronger together.” (“La unión hace la fuerza”)

I look forward to our two countries opening a new chapter in our strategic partnership, building upon the discussions at today’s summit and the agreements reached.

Once again, I extend my gratitude to President Sheinbaum and the people of Mexico for their warm hospitality. Muchas gracias!