Mexico City, Mexico — The leaders of Mexico and South Korea gathered last week in Mexico City to sign a series of ambitious accords involving trade, technology, investment and security.
The Joint Action Plan Mexico-Korea 2026-2030, signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and Korean President Lee Jae Myung on September 24, launches a new chapter in the 64-year-old bilateral relations between the two nations and cements a new pathway for joint investments.
“It will be the roadmap for our relationship over the next four years and will give continuity to bilateral work in its various areas,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference.
The ties between South Korea and Mexico are deep and significant, given that Korea is one of Mexico’s five main trading partners in the world, while Mexico is Korea’s main trading partner in Latin America.
In 2025, bilateral trade reached $27 billion, while Korean investment accumulated since 2006 amounts to more than $11.5 billion through more than 2,000 companies, according to figures presented by Sheinbaum.
“Korea’s technological leadership, together with Mexico’s industrial capabilities, talent and geographic position, offers us the opportunity to build new alliances that strengthen our competitiveness and expand collaboration between our research centers to train new generations of talent,” Sheinbaum said.
The two governments signed 17 Memorandums of Understanding covering areas such as economic and financial cooperation, development cooperation, academic mobility, culture, tourism, science and technology. They also cover intellectual property, agriculture and security.
According to the Korean head of state, South Korea will even provide resources and infrastructure to strengthen Mexico’s defense industry and “modernize” Mexico’s armed forces.
Furthermore, the two countries will create a new mechanism involving an intermediary credit line of $100 million between their respective export-import banks to support Mexican and Korean companies.
Featured image: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Mexico City on September 24
Image credit: Screenshot of video shared by Claudia Sheinbaum via X.
