MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Mexican President Vicente Fox and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed a historic free trade agreement, the first such pact for Japan in Latin America and Mexico`s first with an Asian country.
Mexico hopes the pact will translate into greater Japanese investment in Mexico and increased access to Japanese markets for Mexican farm products. Japan today imports 60 billion dollars in food a year.
The two leaders said they also talked about the problem of intellectual property rights.
"The prime minister proposed holding a summit between our countries on culture, education and intellectual property rights, which would be very practical," said Fox.
"We have much to talk about on the subject of protection of intellectual property," said Koizumi.
"The economic association (between Mexico and Japan) does not bear directly on that," he said, "but I believe that our countries can collaborate."
Mexico`s Economic Ministry said Japan "is an important source of direct foreign investment and a very large market for Mexican exports."
The trade pact has strategic importance for Japan, since Mexico is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes the United States and Canada, Mexican officials said.
Mexico has trade pacts with 42 countries, including the European Union.
Fox and Koizumi signed the deal at the National Palace in the Mexican capital, after 18 rounds of negotiations over more than a year. The negotiations ended in March and the trade pact will take effect April 1.