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BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Mexico would like to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) with Argentina to rapidly increase the bilateral trade worth 2.5 billion U.S. dollars annually, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Monday.
The minister made the remark one week after an official visit by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to Argentina.
"This visit gave us the opportunity," said Guajardo. As an FTA with the United States has enabled bilateral trade to grow eight-fold, "with Argentina we could rapidly double trade," said Guajardo in an interview with local daily Clarin.
He said the two Latin American countries share a vision "when it comes to strategies, development policy and integration of trade."
Guajardo expects an FTA could be reached by the time Nieto's administration ends in 2018.
"The timing depends a lot on the political will of the two countries. We are willing, with no doubt," he said.
"Argentina is now our fourth biggest trading partner in Latin America, and we have already FTAs with Chile, Colombia and Peru," the minister added.
