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Newsletter No. 18 November-December 2017

State visit of Slovakian President Andrej Kiska in Mexico

On November 21st, Mexican

President Enrique Peña Nieto

received his counterpart from

the Slovak Republic, Andrej

Kiska, on a state visit in Mexico.

During their work meeting at

the National Palace, the

Presidents agreed upon

fostering a close and dynamic

relationship. They also

exchanged views on regional

and global topics of common

interest, like the Sustainable

Development Goals 2030 and

the importance of adopting in 2018 the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration in

order to guarantee the rights of migrants. At the end of their meeting, the Heads of State signed a

Joint Declaration, in which they committed to strengthening the relationship Mexico-Slovakia at every

level, and reiterated the values that unite both nations, like democracy and human rights.

Also, the Presidents witnessed the

signing of two legal instruments

destined to promote scientific,

technological, academic and

innovation exchange, and to improve

cooperation in the fields of

education, youth, sports and culture.

During this first state visit of a

Slovakian Head of State in Mexico,

President Kiska was accompanied by

a business delegation, which

travelled with him to Monterrey in

the State of Nuevo León in order to

identify new commercial exchange

opportunities. Mexico and the Slovak Republic established diplomatic relations in 1993. Next year,

both countries will celebrate 25 years of friendship and cooperation. The first state visit of a Mexican

Head of State in Slovakia took place in 2006 in the person of former President Vicente Fox.

Bilateral Mexico

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Participation of Mexico in the 17th UNIDO General Conference

Mexico participated in the 17th General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which took place from November 27th to December 1st. During the sessions, Mr. Li Yong was re-elected to the post of UNIDO's Director General and several resolutions on issues like environment and energy, gender equality, and industrial development in low-income countries were adopted. Mexico was re-elected as a member of UNIDO's Programme and Budget Committee. On the occasion of the conference,

Ambassador Alicia Buenrostro delivered a speech and pointed out the projects that UNIDO is implementing in Mexico, especially those related with the fulfilment of the commitments of the Montreal Protocol and the Global Environment Fund (GEF). She also highlighted the recent signing of a Joint Declaration by the Mexican Ministry of Energy and by UNIDO, aiming at cooperating in fields of energy efficiency and renewable energies. In the framework of the conference, the “TEDx Talks:

The Circular Economy” were organized and Mexico participated in the event “Industry 4.0, the Opportunities behind the Challenge”, in which Ambassador Hermann Aschentrupp Toledo, Deputy Chief of Mission, discussed with other panellists about the impact of the Industry 4.0 on society and about the role of governments, international organizations and the academic and private sectors.

Meeting with the Group of Friends for Women in Nuclear

On November 8th, Ambassador Alicia Buenrostro invited the Group of Friends for Women in Nuclear to a meeting at the premises of this Embassy with the objective of realizing a follow-up session on the Group's commitments and initiatives destined to promote a higher participation of women in the activities of the International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna by enhancing their professional development and a stronger gender perspective. The Group is presently co-presided over by Mexico and Australia, and integrated by 20 countries of America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. For more information on the Group: https://www.facebook.com/gofforwin and https://www.iaea.org/about/employment/women-at-the-iaea

Multilateral Mexico

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Mexican delegation led by the Undersecretary of Public Service at the 7th

Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against

Corruption

The Undersecretary of Public Service of Mexico, Eber Omar Betanzos Torres, participated in representation of the Government of Mexico as head of the Mexican delegation in the 7th Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which took place in Vienna from November 6th to 10th. Undersecretary Betanzos Torres pointed out the fundamental role of the

Convention and its evaluation mechanism, which have allowed the States Parties to take measures that range from cooperation schemes to legal reforms of utmost importance for the fight against corruption. In this context, he warned that this phenomenon affects the whole world, undermines every public and private level, confronts governments and societies, and weakens the confidence in public institutions. Therefore, the only lasting solution is a transition towards more open, transparent and inclusive governments, he pointed out. Undersecretary Betanzos Torres added that the Convention concentrates on necessary steps in order to avoid corruption in the public and the private sectors, and to promote cooperation with civil society. He also recognized that not enough attention has been drawn to the aspect of prevention, which has had a high cost. He also stated that Mexico is working on establishing solid rules and regulations and that those efforts are reflected by constitutional reforms like the one providing the creation of the National Anti-Corruption System. The Undersecretary stressed that the new system is a response to the demands of civil society for a government that integrates citizens into decision-making processes and promotes corruption prevention through a system of “checks and balances”. In the framework of the conference, the Government of Mexico organized the side event “The Role of Citizen Engagement in Fighting Against Corruption”, presided over by the head of the Mexican delegation. The event included a pre-recorded pronouncement by Dr. Alfonso Hernández Valdez, member of the Committee for Citizen Engagement of the National Anti-Corruption System, who shared his opinion on the importance of the participation of civil society in the fight against this problem. Apart from representatives of Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and the UK, the event was also attended by officials for international transparency and staff of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNDOC). Read press release of the Government of Mexico (in Spanish) >>> https://www.gob.mx/sfp/es/prensa/gobiernos-mas-abiertos-son-la-opcion-del-futuro-destaca-sfp-en-conferencia-anticorrupcion?idiom=es Read complete speech of the Undersecretary (in Spanish) >>> https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/austria/images/Stories/Pronuncia/Interv7a_COSP_-UNCAC.pdf

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Campaign for the elimination of violence against women and girls

The Foreign Ministry of Mexico joined the campaign “UNiTE to End Violence Against Women” launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, which lasted from November 25th (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until December 10th (Human Rights Day). During those 16 days of

activism against gender-based violence, numerous actions were undertaken to contribute to ending violence against women and girls in the world. You are invited to join the “orange movement” and to participate in worldwide, collectively organized actions against gender-based violence. For more information on the UNiTE campaign, please visit the following Website: http://www.un.org/es/women/endviolence/

Charity concert of the baroque ensemble of Vienna's Symphonic Orchestra

On November 21st, the baroque ensemble of the Symphonic Orchestra of Vienna gave a charity concert for the victims in the Mexican region Istmo de Tehuantepec who were affected by the earthquakes that shook Mexico last September. The choir Consortium Musikum Alte Universität and the four solo singers Neivi Martínez (Mexico), Eva María Santana (Mexico), Pablo Cameselle (Argentina), and Günther Haumer (Austria), conducted by Dr. Christian Birnbaum, interpreted Mozart's Requiem at the church Jesuitenkirche in Vienna. The charity concert under the auspices of Austria's Federal President Dr. Alexander Van der Bellen was attended by approx. 480 persons. The revenues were donated to the organization “Amigos del IAGO y CFMAB” (acronyms of the Mexican institutions Instituto de Artes Gráficas de

Oaxaca and Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo) for charitable causes in the State of Oaxaca.

Charity concert of the cultural association “Klub Alsergrund” On December 8th, at 8:00pm. the cultural association “Klub Alsergrund – Kulturvereinigung” also organized a charity concert at the crypt in the Viennese church Canisiuskirche with the participation of Mexican singers Noé Colín, Mónica Chávez, and Carlos Ozuna, among other excellent Austrian and international musicians, who interpreted pieces composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Umberto Giordano, George Bizet, Charles Gounod, as well as traditional folklore songs from Mexico.

The Mexican Community's Solidarity with the Victims of the September Earthquakes

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Celebration of a typical Mexican Posada at the ICM in Vienna

The Embassy of Mexico, through its Consular Section, organized an early Posada on December 12th at the Cultural Institute of Mexico in Vienna (ICM) to meet with the Mexican community living in Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. The event was a typical Mexican Posada tradition. The Embassy's staff offered hot punch, tamales, empanadas, churros, and buñuelos to the Mexican community and friends of Mexico. In Mexico, the

Posadas start on December 16th and are celebrated until Christmas. This celebration represents the Holy Family's search for shelter to give birth to Jesus Christ. Thanks to all participants for coming!

Performance of the “Ameyalli” folk dance group at the VIC Congratulations to the members of the “Ameyalli” folk dance group for its excellent performance during the cultural programme of the United Nations Women’s Guild Bazar 2017, which took place at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) on past December 2nd! More information: https://www.unwg-bazaar-vienna.org/

Signing of the decree to create the nature reserve Revillagigedo

On November 24th, the decision was taken to declare the archipelago of Revillagigedo as a nature reserve, the largest one in North America, in order to guarantee its conservation and protection. “Today is a historical day for the protection of Mexico's natural heritage. Protecting the environment is important to the Mexican society and a priority of our Government”, stated Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto during the signing of the decree to create

the nature reserve Revillagigedo, prohibiting all types of fishing activities, extraction of natural resources and hotel construction in the area. The present Administration has issued decrees to create six nature reserves and five protected areas, which altogether comprise more than 65 million hectares.

News from Mexico

Culture

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Conference “ALA-ICA 2017: Archives, Citizenship and Interculturalism”

The conference “ALA-ICA 2017: Archives, Citizenship and Interculturalism”, organized by the Association of Latin American Archivists (ALA) and the International Council on Archives (ICA), with the support of Mexico's Archivo General de la Nación (AGN) and the UNESCO Office in Mexico, took place in Mexico City from November 27th to 29th. The conference was attended by 500 participants, mainly experts and professionals of the archivist sector from 83 countries, who agreed upon fighting for free access to public documents and against censorship

and purge of archives of legitimate public interest by any means, including electronically. It was the first time that the conference was hosted by a Latin American country and the session ended with the reading out of the “Declaration of Mexico City” by ICA President, Mr. David Fricker, and ALA President and AGN Director, Mrs. Mercedes de Vega.

31st Guadalajara International Book Fair

The 31st Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL, for its acronym in Spanish), one of the most important publishing events in Iberian America, took place in the city of Guadalajara, from November 25th until December 3rd. This year, the FIL was attended by more than 700 authors from 41 countries and by representatives of the publishing and cultural industries. Without neglecting its purpose as a business platform, the FIL was designed as a cultural festival with literature as its backbone and with a programme that

includes authors from all countries and languages, hosting each year another guest country or region, which this year was Madrid. Source: Ministry of Culture

Mexico registered 21,754.9 million dollars of Direct Foreign Investment

from January to September 2017

From January to September 2017, Mexico registered 21,754.9 million dollars of Direct Foreign Invetsment (DFI), 10.0 per cent higher than the figure obtained during the same period in 2016 (19,772.6 million dollars). During the third quarter of 2017, the DFI sums up to 5,716.8 million dollars, 32.5 per cent higher than the preliminary sum during the same period in 2016 (4,314.3 million dollars). Under the present Administration, the total accumulated DFI is

163,157.4 million dollars, which exceeds the aim established in the National Development Plan 2013-2018 (157,595 million dollars) by 3.5 per cent and is 53.7 per cent higher than the original figure reported six years ago. Source: Ministry of Economy More information (in Spanish): https://www.gob.mx/se/prensa/de-enero-a-septiembre-de-2017-mexico-registro-21-754-9-millones-de-dolares-de-inversion-extranjera-directa

Economy

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IMF predicts this year's growth of the Mexican economy will be 2.1 per cent The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the National Bank of Mexico have informed about the publication of the Annual Report 2017 of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Mexican economy. The document states that Mexico's economy has proved to be resilient to external influences and it predicts that this year's growth will amount to 2.1 per cent. The report also says that the structural reforms have contributed to increased economic activity and investments, price reduction and better services. More information (in Spanish): https://www.gob.mx/shcp/prensa/comunicado-se-dan-a-conocer-los-resultados-de-la-consulta-del-articulo-iv-para-2017-llevada-a-cabo-por-el-fondo-monetario-internacional

Magazine “México en Transformación” The magazine “México en Transformación” (Mexico in Transformation) offers detailed information about the progress in each of the six priority areas of the present Administration, which are: an inclusive Mexico; high-quality education in Mexico; prosperity for Mexico; Mexico as a responsible global actor; peace in Mexico; and a modern Mexico. Read the magazine (available only in Spanish): https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/austria/images/Stories/Varios/MexTransforma/mexEnTransf03.pdf

Newsletter “Acción Local Sustentable” of the ICLEI network By clicking on the following link, you will find a copy of the newsletter “Acción Local Sustentable” (Sustainable Local Action) of the international organization ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, which includes the article “La acción internacional local y el papel de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores” (International local action and the role of the Foreign Ministry), pages 17-19. ICLEI is an international network that helps local governments through trainings, technical assistance and counselling to design and implement programmes and public policies for a sustainable development. The organization is presently headed over by the mayor of Seoul, Park Won Soon, and is represented in more than 1,500 cities in Mexico. Read newsletter (available only in Spanish): https://issuu.com/revista_accionlocalsustentable/docs/accion_local_sustentable_n__11

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