The Canning House Mexico-UK Summit

The day opened with remarks from Canning House’s CEO, Jeremy Browne. He welcomed the audience to the inaugural Mexico-UK Summit and explained how Canning House connects the UK to Latin America.

His Majesty’s Ambassador to Mexico Susannah Goshko CMG was the first of many speakers to highlight the bilateral opportunity between Mexico and the UK and their clearly aligned priorities: kickstarting economic growth, increasing green energy capacity, and building health systems fit for the future. She stressed that although Mexico and the UK share a complementary and equal trading relationship, the level of trade could and should be much higher. The UK’s accession to the CPTPP will serve as a key step in that sense. In addition, the Ambassador highlighted Mexico’s diplomatic ability to tackle the growing global challenges.

The morning continued with a presentation from Professor Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe. He gave the conference a briefing on the global context and the positions of Mexico and the UK. He also compared the different outlooks in Mexico and the UK on politics, society, and culture.

The first panel of the day tackled the geopolitical situation. The panellists agreed that Trump’s tariffs have fundamentally destroyed the rules of international trade irreparably. This is a crisis not just for the world of business, but also for politics and international relations. Yet in this time of uncertainty Mexico and the UK appear to be in similar situations: both countries are trying to find new trade partners in the wake of momentous political shifts, both are considering their relationship with China, and both are asking questions over migration. Therefore, they can build a relationship based on more than trade through societal links such as those promoted by the Chevening scholarships. The conversation naturally turned to relationships with the USA and the speakers explained that Mexico is a Latin American country in North America: it is tied closely to both worlds and it acts as a key strategic bridge. This panel showed why this is a crucial moment for fostering UK-Mexico relations.

The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of the Mexican Government, Alicia Bárcena, delivered a keynote address that highlighted the environmental challenge facing Mexico. This challenge is enormous and varied: from a stress on water supplies to a risk of floods, its economy is exposed to rising temperatures. However, the Secretary was resolute that Mexico is moving in the right direction: it has issued sustainability bonds and made commitments to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by 35 %. Every state in Mexico already has Carbon Taxes and commitments have been made to protect the mangrove swamps and forests covering the country. She praised the UK’s role cooperative role: the Cancún and Glasgow declarations were a good basis, but the UK’s expertise in emissions trading and Kew Garden’s reforestation practices can help Mexico further. Secretary Bárcena ended with a call for international collaboration and stressed that we need to make peace with nature. Read the full speech here.

Dr Jorge Islas, the Under-Secretary for Planning and Energy Transition followed with a speech that highlighted the need for private and public sector investment in the energy industry. President Sheinbaum is committed to making Mexico’s energy greener. Currently 22% of electricity generated in Mexico is clean energy, the goal by 2030 is to bring that up to 30%.

The morning continued with a fireside chat with Diego Spannaus of HSBC. His interview covered the importance of sustainable finance and the potential of Latin America as a market in this area. He explained that by tying access to credit to climate goals HSBC incentivises its clients to undertake green projects. Furthermore, he spoke of the millions already invested in social projects across Latin America.

The morning session finished with a panel focused on the energy transition in Mexico and the UK. The panellists demonstrated that this process does not contain simply switching energy sources. Mexico needs to create an entirely integrated system and connect much of the population currently without electricity. At the same time, the speakers stressed that it is not an option for Mexico to simply drop fossil fuels without viable alternatives.

The afternoon of the Mexico-UK Summit focused on the business, trade, and financial opportunities in this relationship. The first panel discussed trade, it explained that Mexico offers close access to US markets and acts as a manufacturing hub for international business. The panellists highlighted the balanced level of trade between Mexico and the UK but agreed that trade levels are not high as they should be. Mexico has room to develop its ports, energy, and water infrastructure, which could all boost trade with the UK and Latin America more generally. Yet the speakers worried that the lack of a rules based international system could jeopardise global trade.

The CFO for AstraZeneca in Latin America, Gonzalo Izazaga Kuri took part in a fireside chat. He discussed the importance of the Latin American market to AstraZeneca’s global business. Mexico and Brazil are two of the largest growing markets. Gonzalo urged investors to stop worrying about supposed instability in Latin America and focus on the innovation and investment in the region.

The final panel of the day discussed Mexico and the UK’s tech and financial ecosystems. It was moderated by the former Lord Mayor of London and DLA Piper Senior Adviser, Vincent Keaveny. This discussion highlighted the enormous potential of Mexico as a market for international business. It has high margins, high population growth, and an increasingly connected population with high demand for technology. At the same time, the speakers pointed out that only 5% of the Mexican population is proficient in English. If the countries’ business ties are to deepen then education and skills-gaps need to be addressed.

The final speaker of the day was Raúl Martínez-Ostos Jaye of Barclays. His keynote speech once again emphasised the volatility in the near future but maintained an optimistic note: there is still great potential for long term growth. He maintained that Mexico and the UK stood to gain from this uncertainty because of the quality of their markets.

Jeremy Browne, Canning House’s CEO, brought the Summit to an end with his closing remarks. During the networking reception attendees came together to form new connections and discuss the topics raised during the day.

Thank you to all our speakers for the invaluable contributions to the conference, and for giving up their time to participate. We hope all attendants found the event enriching and interesting, and we look forward to seeing you at the next Canning House event. Finally, thank you to all those who helped organise the event for your hard work and commitment.

To discover more from the Canning House Mexico-UK Summit, read the media coverage below.

Press Coverage

El EconomistaForbesLa Crónica de HoyEl Heraldo de MéxicoSEMARNATWRI