Japan and Mexico agreed Monday to form a working group of experts to discuss measures to promote investment between the two countries, visiting Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said.
"Compared to bilateral trade, investment (from Japan) has not reached a satisfactory point," Derbez said through an interpreter at a news conference.
Investment from Japanese firms has increased in the field of automobiles and auto parts, but Mexico hopes investment will flow into other fields as well, including port construction, transportation and electronics, Derbez said.
He also expressed hope the experts will discuss ways to increase Mexican investment in Japan during the working group meetings but did not elaborate on when the first meeting will be held.
According to Derbez, a bilateral free-trade agreement that took effect in April pushed up Mexico's exports to Japan by 24 percent while Japan's exports to Mexico rose by 32 percent from the previous year.