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COROZAL, Belize -- The seventh meeting of the Mexico-Belize Bi-National Commission was held on August 30-31 in Corozal, Belize. The meeting of the Commission, the most important forum for bilateral dialogue and cooperation, was chaired by the Mexican Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ambassador Norma Pensado, and the CEO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize, Alexis Rosado. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassadors of Mexico to Belize, Mario Velazquez, and of Belize to Mexico, Oliver del Cid.

The Mexican delegation also included officials from the Ministries of Interior, Defense, Finance, Civil Service, Economy, Communications and Transportation and Agriculture, as well as the Navy and the Attorney General's Office, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the National Water Commission and the government of the State of Quintana Roo.

During the two-day meeting, meetings were held by the political and economic, trade and financial subcommittees. There was also a meeting to assess the seventh scientific and technical cooperation program, and a second meeting on cross-border transportation.

Progress was made in strengthening the already close ties between the two countries during the meeting. The border between Mexico and Belize is clearly an example of good neighborliness as well as a place of opportunity and development.

The two delegations toured the new Chac-Temal international border crossing point located in Othon P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, Mexico and Corozal, Belize, to observe the progress made on the Mexican border, and they agreed to propose inaugurating the crossing point in the near future.

Both delegations agreed to continue working hard for the welfare of their border communities and society as a whole. They applauded the start of studies on water quality and availability in the Rio Hondo Basin in 2013 and decided to create a bi-national flood early warning system for the river.

They also applauded the fact that, in recent years, the supply of electricity in Belize has improved, after the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) signed a contract for electric energy last February.

Regarding security, the two countries agreed to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in combating transnational organized crime. They renewed their commitment to hold a meeting of the Committee to Combat Drug Trafficking and the High Level Mexico-Belize Border Security Group (GANSEF) by the end of the year.

Regionally, they agreed to work together with the Central American Integration System (SICA) and to provide broad support for the Central American Security Strategy with a regional focus on shared responsibility that encourages trust and respect for national sovereignty.

Furthermore, both delegations endorsed the importance of creating the Hemispheric Scheme against Transnational Organized Crime in compliance with the instruction of the presidents issued at the last Summit of the Americas. The Belize delegation thanked Mexico for its invitation and confirmed its participation in the upcoming international conference on this issue that will be held in Mexico City on September 20.

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