Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard will represent Mexico at three major international events in the coming days, a role in which he has ample experience due to President López Obrador’s predilection for staying at home.
Ebrard will first attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, before traveling to Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Later next week he will fly to Ankara, Turkey, for a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, while on Nov. 20 he will be in Qatar to attend the opening match of the FIFA World Cup.
At COP27, as the climate conference is commonly known, Ebrard will present “Mexico’s vision for the transition to clean energy” and outline its commitments to help the world combat climate change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said a statement.
The Environment Ministry said earlier this week that Mexico would announce a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 at COP27, which began last Sunday and concludes next Friday. That’s an increase of eight percentage points compared to the nationally determined contribution goal it set in 2016, and there is some skepticism that Mexico will be able to achieve the more ambitious target given its current heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy production.
However, Ebrard said Thursday that he would meet with United States climate envoy John Kerry in Egypt to discuss “the expansion of clean energy production in Mexico.”
Mexico needs to increase such production “at a rate even faster than the United States” to ensure it can comply with any clean energy requirements the U.S. imposes on exports to that country, the foreign minister said. During Kerry’s visit to Sonora last month, Mexican and U.S. officials spoke of their shared vision to increase the production of solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric energy, he added.
Ebrard, who hopes to win the ruling Morena party’s nomination in order to contest the 2024 presidential election, will meet with leaders of the world’s largest economies at the Nov. 15 and 16 G20 summit in Bali, hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and new United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among the leaders who will attend the annual meeting.
“Mexico will actively participate [in the summit] so that the G20 assumes the responsibility that corresponds to it in order to make progress on the priorities of the group in the areas of health, energy transitions, digital transformation, migration, gender equality and women’s empowerment, development, environment and climate change,” the SRE said.
The ministry noted that this year’s leaders’ summit will occur in an “unprecedented context due to the geopolitical situation in eastern Europe because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on food and energy security.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t attend the G20 Summit in person but may join virtually, Russian and Indonesian officials said Thursday.
Ebrard said Monday that the war between Russia and Ukraine, food security, global economic growth prospects, inflation and public security will all be discussed in Bali, one of 37 provinces of Indonesia. The discussions won’t be easy but “dialogue is important,” he told reporters in Mexico City.
The SRE said the foreign minister will also attend a series of bilateral meetings in Bali, including ones with his U.S., Canadian, Spanish and Argentine counterparts and the director-general of the World Health Organization. Mexico is currently in dispute resolution discussions with the U.S. and Canada after those two countries challenged the federal government’s nationalistic energy policies under the USMCA, the North American free trade pact that took effect in 2020.
From Bali, Ebrard will head to Ankara to co-chair with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu the second meeting of the High Level Mexico-Turkey Commission, the SRE said. Both countries are part of the MIKTA group, an informal partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia, all of which are considered middle powers.
While in Ankara, Ebrard will also meet with business people and members of the Mexican community in Turkey, the ministry said.
The foreign minister will subsequently head to Doha, Qatar, to attend the opening World Cup match between Qatar and Ecuador and Mexico’s first group match against Poland on Nov. 22. The SRE said that Ebrad will represent President López Obrador at the World Cup, and noted that he was invited to attend by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Among other scheduled activities in Qatar, the foreign minister will visit the Katara Cultural Village, where “he will unveil sculptures by renowned Mexican artist Rodrigo Solórzano, as a symbol of Mexico’s friendship and appreciation of Qatar,” the SRE said.
Ebrard frequently represents Mexico on the world stage as López Obrador — who asserts that “the best foreign policy is domestic policy” — prefers to remain at home to focus on national issues. The president held his morning news conference in Mérida, Yucatán, on Friday and will once again inspect progress on his pet infrastructure project, the Maya Train railroad, this weekend.
Among the recent events Ebrard has attended in López Obrador’s stead are the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London in September and the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York later the same month.
With reports from El Economista and Reuters
Illegal wildlife trafficking is rampant in Mexico, according to a study carried out by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Mexico will collaborate with the US to double its renewable energy production capacity, the foreign minister announced on Saturday.
After ozone levels triggered an air quality alert this weekend, Mexico City residents started the week with increased driving restrictions.
A spate of high-profile femicides has drawn attention to gender-based violence in Mexico, prompting authorities to highlight recent arrests.
Large quantities of drugs have been seized at the Mexico-US border and in the state of Durango in recent days.
As Mexico’s first game of the 2022 World Cup approaches, head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has revealed his 26-man roster.
Illegal wildlife trafficking is rampant in Mexico, according to a study carried out by the Center for Biological Diversity.
According to the Bank of Mexico, China’s exports to Mexico were worth US $79.48 billion between January and August 2022.
Mexico will collaborate with the US to double its renewable energy production capacity, the foreign minister announced on Saturday.
Mexicans across the country took to the streets Sunday to protest against the federal proposal to replace the National Electoral Institute.
Whether your taste is beer in a casual dive bar or sipping signature cocktails at sunset, there’s a bar here — and a view — just for you.
It takes a bit of time and effort to learn to use an Instant Pot, but its such a timesaver, it’ll be the best kitchen decision you ever make.
But the Magical Town is also the birthplace of revolutionary icon Francisco I. Madero and boasts colonial-era construction and hot springs.
Sarah DeVries muses on the tradeoff in being an expat: it means not being able to help in family crises or keep an eye on aging loved ones.
John Pint offers a primer on some words borrowed from this pre-Hispanic indigenous language that are used daily by most Mexicans.
This ancient site, occupied for two millennia, is packed with ancient Mayan structures, including a pyramid and an enigmatic labyrinth.
Mexico is hiring foreign medical personnel to fill empty public health slots, but it should acknowledge the reasons those jobs go unfilled.
Columnist Omar Vidal reflects on the significance of the rituals of Day of the Dead and asks us to remember those who have disappeared in Mexico.
Commentary by Kelly Arthur Garrett. The recent massive Guacamaya hack of Defense Ministry files has revealed just the sort of organization to which AMLO’s handing control.
Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter
THE STORY: Mexican lead soccer coach announces World Cup roster