Mexico–Poland relations

Mexico-Poland relations

Mexico
Poland

Mexico–Poland relations are the bilateral relations between Mexico and Poland. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.

History

During Spanish colonization of Mexico from 1519 to 1810, any relations between New Spain and the Commonwealth of Poland would have been via Spain. After some time, while Mexico was obtaining its independence from Spain, Poland, by contrast, was finding itself being invaded and split among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Russian empire. At the end of World War I and after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Poland obtained its independence once more.

In September 1921, Mexican President Alvaro Obregon recognized the national sovereignty of Poland. That same year, Polish Prince Albert Radziwill, who was head of the Polish Legation in Washington, D.C., United States, met with Mexican diplomats in the city, thus establishing the first official contact between the two nations.[1] However, it was not until 26 February 1928 that diplomatic relations between the two countries were formally established. In 1930, Mexico and Poland signed a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation and Mexico soon opened its first diplomatic legation in Warsaw.[2]

Orphaned Polish children in Santa Rosa, Guanajuato

In the 1930s, diplomatic relations between the two nations became difficult with the rise of Adolf Hitler in neighboring Germany to the west of Poland and the ever-expanding Soviet Union to the east. In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty stating that they would not attack one another if a war broke out in Europe and that they would share between them the territory of Poland. This treaty was to be known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. During World War II, diplomatic relations between Mexico and Poland never ceased. Mexico vehemently condemned the invasion and occupation of Poland by both German and Soviet troops. In May 1942, Mexico declared war on Germany. To show solidarity with the Polish people, Mexico accepted in 1943 over 2,000 Polish refugees including 1,400 Polish orphans to settle in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. After the war, many of the refugees remained to live in Mexico.[3]

At the end of World War II, Mexico continued to maintain diplomatic relations with communist Poland. In 1960, both nations elevated their diplomatic missions to that of embassies.[2] In 1963, President Adolfo López Mateos became the first Mexican head of state to visit Poland. That same year, Polish Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz paid an official visit to Mexico. Diplomatic relations continued unabated even when Poland transitioned from having a communist government to a democratic one in 1989. In 1998, former Polish President Lech Wałęsa paid a visit to Mexico. Wałęsa returned to Mexico in December 2000 to attend the inauguration of President Vicente Fox.[4]

In 2017, both nations commemorated the opening of a Polish Investment and Trade Agency office in Mexico City.[5] In 2018, both nations celebrated 90 years of diplomatic relations.[4]

State visits

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Mexico City, 2017.

Presidential visits from Mexico to Poland[2]

Prime Ministerial and Presidential visits from Poland to Mexico[2][6]

Bilateral relations

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (1930); Agreement to avoid Double-Taxation and Fiscal Evasion (1998); Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1998); Agreement on the establishment of Political Consultations between Mexico and Poland (1998); Agreement on Tourism Cooperation (2004); Agreement on Educational and Cultural Cooperation (2017) and an Agreement on Exportation Credit (2017). [7][8]

Transportation and Tourism

Polish national airline LOT Polish Airlines operates seasonal charter flights between Warsaw Chopin Airport and Cancún International Airport. In 2015, 35,000 Polish citizens traveled to Mexico for tourism.[9]

Trade and Economic Relations

Building hosting the Embassy of Mexico in Warsaw

In 1997, Mexico signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, of which Poland is a member of since joining in 2004. Since then, trade between the two nations has increased dramatically. In 2017, two-way trade between the two nations amounted to $1.1 billion USD.[10][11] Poland is Mexico's 47th most important trading partner globally. Mexico's main exports to Poland include: computers, automobiles, shaving blades, gas turbines, vehicle parts, vapor turbines and alcohol.[12] Poland's main exports to Mexico include: Automobile parts, telecommunication equipment, cranes and lifting devices for overhead cables and lamps.[13]

Between 1999 and 2012, Polish direct investment to Mexico amounted to $17 million USD.[11] During that same period, Mexican direct investment to Poland amounted to approximately $4 million USD.[14] Mexican multinational companies Cemex, Grupo Industrial Saltillo, Katcon, Mexichem and Nemak operate in Poland and Mexican beer and Tequila are readily found in Poland. Polish multinational companies Boryszew and Bury Technologies operate in Mexico.[9] Mexican cinema and Telenovelas are widely watched in Poland.

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

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