Japan and Mexico have agreed to speed up negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement to meet their target of concluding the treaty by this fall, Japanese officials said Friday.
The agreement was reached in a meeting of senior government officials in Mexico City on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry officials. The two countries plan to hold further talks in Tokyo in August.
In the meeting, participants discussed a range of issues, including investment and services, the officials said.
Ryuichiro Yamazaki, ambassador for international economic affairs, led the Japanese delegation, while Angel Villalobos, vice minister of economy in charge of international commerce, headed the Mexican delegation.
The FTA talks began in November, following an agreement between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Mexican President Vicente Fox in October to start negotiations with an eye to concluding the talks within a year.