Singapore, Mexico to begin talks on free trade pact in July.SINGAPORE, April 10 KyodoSingapore and Mexico have agreed to launch negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA FTA abbr. Future Teachers of America ) in July, Singapore's minister of state for trade The Minister of State for Trade is an executive position in the Government of the United Kingdom, in both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Trade and Industry and industry said Monday. ''Both sides have recently agreed that negotiations on a bilateral FTA between Mexico and Singapore would commence from July 1, 2000,'' Lim Swee Say Lim Swee Say (林瑞生, born July 13, 1954) is the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore and the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress. He is an elected Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. said at an Asia-Mexico business meeting in Singapore. Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong, 1941–, prime minister of Singapore (1990–2004). After holding government and business positions, he was elected to Singapore's parliament in 1976 and served in the cabinet and People's Action party leadership from 1979. and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo agreed in September last year that the two countries would explore the possibility of negotiating a bilateral FTA. ''We believe that an FTA between our two countries, covering both investment and trade, will definitely add much impetus to the growing trade and investments between Singapore and Mexico,'' Lim said. Singapore and Japan began their feasibility study for a bilateral FTA last month after Goh and then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi agreed to launch such a study during their meeting in Japan last December. Singapore is also working on an FTA with New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. and Chile. Goh has been pushing for bilateral FTAs in a bid to accelerate trade liberalization lib·er·al·ize v. lib·er·al·ized, lib·er·al·iz·ing, lib·er·al·iz·es v.tr. To make liberal or more liberal: "Our standards of private conduct have been greatly liberalized . . . talks at the regional and global level. Mexico is Singapore's largest trading partner in Latin America, while Singapore is Mexico's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Bilateral trade came to $1.3 billion last year. |
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