AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos is to meet with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña in Mexico City this week.
On his visit, Cascos will also meet with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico E. Anthony Wayne. It will be Cascos’ first official international mission since being sworn in as Secretary of State in March.
Details of the trip were announced Monday by Governor Greg Abbott’s office. Abbott said Cascos will deliver a message of bilateral collaboration on behalf of the State of Texas. The trip runs from April 27 to April 30.
“An open and effective relationship between Mexico and Texas is vital for our state’s future, as well as for the future of the United States,” Abbott said. “I am confident Secretary Cascos’ visit will mark a new chapter of continued rapport with Mexico and strengthen our long-term partnership.”
There has been concern in some quarters that Texas could be losing out to California when it comes to fostering strong economic and educational links to Mexico. California Gov. Jerry Brown led a 90-member delegation of public officials and private-sector executives to Mexico City last summer. The aim was to promote more trade and better relations. Also last year, University of California System President Janet Napolitano went to Mexico City to promote stronger links with Mexican higher education institutions. Napolitano was seeking an advanced research agreement with the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology.
Abbott’s office confirmed Cascos, who was born in Mexico and is fluent in Spanish, will meet with Meade Kuribreña and Wayne and will be accompanied by a small delegation from his office.
“The Texas delegation will participate in multiple meetings hosted by the SRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and SENER (Ministry of Energy) to discuss Mexico’s border infrastructure and energy reform initiatives,” according to Abbott’s office. “The delegation will also attend a reception hosted by Mexico’s Texas Exes and Texas A&M alumni, and will visit El Palacio Nacional (The National Palace), Templo Mayor (Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan) and the Catedral Metropolitina (Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral).”
Meanwhile, Abbott’s office has also confirmed that Abbott focused on economic development and the Texas-Honduras trade relationship when he met with Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Austin last week.
Last year, thousands of children and young families from Honduras sought refuge in the United States by traveling north through Guatemala and Mexico and crossing in the U.S. through South Texas. Also entering the U.S. were large numbers of children and young families from Guatemala and El Salvador.
Undocumented immigration was not on the agenda, said Abbott’s press secretary, Amelia Chasse. “Governor Abbott and President Hernandez’s conversation focused on economic development and the Texas-Honduras trade relationship,” Chasse told the Rio Grande Guardian.
“It was an honor to welcome President Hernandez of the Republic of Honduras to Texas,” Abbott said. “As the top exporter to Honduras in 2014, Texas is solidifying its position as an international hub for economic development and transcontinental trade and commerce. As governor, I will continue to develop and strengthen relationships with economies around the world and secure more foreign direct investment to ensure Texas becomes the premier center of global economic activity for generations to come.”
