New Mexico opens economic office in Mexico City, aiming to boost cross-border relations

Though relations between the United States and Mexico have been strained during the Trump administration, New Mexico state officials say the relationship between the Land of Enchantment and its neighbor across the border is as strong as ever.

This month, the state of New Mexico opened a new economic development and tourism office in the World Trade Center in Mexico City, in the hopes of facilitating trade, tourism and economic collaboration between New Mexico and Mexico, New Mexico Economic Development Department officials said.

“We’re just reinforcing that that relationship hasn’t changed between New Mexico and Mexico,” state Economic Development Secretary Black said. “In fact, we see it as a growing opportunity for our economy.”

The office will help facilitate trade between New Mexico and Mexico and foster new opportunities, Black said.

In addition to tourism and cultural exchanges, the office will help students from New Mexico travel across the border for academic opportunities, and will recruit students from Mexico to study at New Mexico’s public universities, according to Black.

“We think that there’s great opportunities for both cultural and educational exchange,” Black said.

New Mexico’s other foreign economic development office is in Taiwan, according to EDD officials.

The support from both sides of the border for the initiative has been “unprecedented,” said Patricia Pinzón, the Consul of Mexico in Albuquerque.

Mexican and New Mexican officials signed a letter of intent Oct. 7 in Mexico City, affirming the two governments’ wishes to develop cross-border ties.

Mexico is the state’s largest export market, according to federal trade data. New Mexico exported $7 billion in goods to Mexico last year, accounting for 58% of the state’s total exports.

“Mexico is the first trading partner of New Mexico, and not only at the commercial or economic level. We are extremely united in many ways,” she said.

The team did not encounter any difficulties at the federal level when opening the Mexico City office, Pinzón said.

“We are very happy to work with this state that is so, so welcoming of Mexico and so immigrant-friendly,” she said.