LatinNews Daily - 19 July 2023

*Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena has announced that she held a “productive meeting” with Valdis Dombrovskis, the executive vice president for economy of the European Union (EU)’s executive branch, the European Commission, about the process to conclude the modernised free trade agreement (FTA) between Mexico and the EU. The meeting took place in Belgian capital Brussels on the sidelines of the summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the EU. Updates to the FTA were agreed in principle in 2018 but have yet to be ratified. Bárcena also met with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, stating that Mexico was “excited about the possibility of a second visit [from von der Leyen] to our country in the near future”, following von der Leyen’s trip to Mexico City (CDMX) in June. Von der Leyen has said she is “confident” that the EU and Mexico will conclude negotiations on an updated FTA in the coming months.