Crouch: Trade Mission Strengthens Mexico Relationship

(photo courtesy of the Lt. Governor's office)

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch says a recent trade mission to Mexico aimed to show that Indiana is open for business. Crouch led a delegation of Indiana agriculture and tourism officials to Mexico this week, which was highlighted by the signing of a letter of intent between Indiana and the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The letter calls for enhanced cooperation between the two states in areas including agriculture, education, and science and technology.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Crouch said the two states have many similarities, being at the center of their respective countries.

"Both Hidalgo and Indiana are very, very agricultural states and have an education institution," said Crouch. "So we signed a letter of intent that stated that we wanted to work on formalizing our partnership and to actually spell out initiatives in education, youth education, technology and agriculture to be able to work together to take Hidalgo and Indiana to the next level and really strengthen that relationship that we have, hopefully creating new business for Indiana in Mexico."

Crouch says there are 15 Mexican companies with a presence in Indiana and, conversely, many Indiana companies have a presence in Mexico, such as Eli Lilly and Co. and Allison Transmission. The Lt. Governor adds during the one of the stops on the trip, officials developed two additional prospects for Indiana.

The trip follows a similar trade mission last year to Canada, which was followed up last month by a visit from a Canadian delegation to Indiana. Crouch says the goal of the trips is to let officials in both countries know that Indiana is ready to collaborate, despite any trade issues at the federal level.

"We want Canada and we want Mexico to know how important they are to Indiana in agriculture. In fact, Canada is our number one trading partner; Mexico is our number two trading partner. So, regardless of what goes on at the federal level, we want them to know that Indiana is open for business and we will continue to move forward and to strive ahead as we develop our business and agriculture relationship." 

You can view the letter of intent signed by Crouch and Hidalgo Secretary of Interior Simón Vargas Aguilar by clicking here.