A team from the Government Press Office accompanied the Belize delegation, and after the official signing ceremony, they had a brief conversation with the PM on these agreements. Here's what he had to say about the strengthening of trade ties:

Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"We have a Memorandum between both free zones: the Corozal Free Zone and this free zone here in Chetumal, and also another agreement between Belize and the Government of Quintana Roo, where we are going to find ways on how we can improve commerce between the two countries. We believe that by setting up this installation here and connecting it to the free zone in Corozal, we can use that avenue to create - to be able to connect to the CARICOM market. Belize is a member of CARICOM, and that's why we can use Mexican products or materials to finish the processing in Belize and then have access to the CARICOM Market. It's a great opportunity for both countries, for both Quintana Roo and for Belize, and I want to urge Belizean business people to take advantage of this, to come here, take a look at what's happening, and see how they can take advantage of this great opportunity that is being made available to us through this memorandum of understanding."

Reporter
"Can you tell us, PM, how you got to this stage today? Obviously, there was a build-up to get here."

Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"In January, we were invited to a conference in Cancun, and then, CEO Garcia - I couldn't make it. So, she was there along with Minister Mai, and pretty much a lot of the work is CEO Garcia, that has been pushing to ensure that we can come up with an agreement and sign an MOU that can benefit not only Mexico but certainly for it to benefit Belize."

And according to the PM, these agreements present an excellent opportunity for Belize and the State of Quintana Roo. He explained that these agreements are beneficial for Mexican goods and services to be exported into Belize, where the finished, value-added products can be completed and shipped into the CARICOM Market. Here's how the PM made the point that Belize could be the gateway between CARICOM and Central America:

Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"What Belize is doing, and this agreement is basically opening up markets for Mexican products into the Caribbean and actually using Belize to actually get into Central America. Belize is the only country that connects both Central America and the Caribbean. We need to take advantage of that. We've been talking about this for so long, but we have never really taken advantage of it. This time, again, the work with CEO Garcia and her team they've been pushing to see how we could participate and take advantage of those opportunities. As I mentioned in my speech a short while ago, we can then take materials from Mexico, bring them into Belize, convert it into a product, and then export [it] into the Caribbean duty-free. We are also expanding the partial scope agreement that we have with Guatemala. The same thing we can do. We can take products from there - the materials - finish the production in Belize and then export into Guatemala. We mentioned the issue, for instance, of lime that when there is a shortage in Belize, we can bring products from Quintana Roo, introduce it in Belize, mix it with our product, and continue the production. So, the opportunities are limitless. Now, it's left up to us as Belizeans to take advantage of those opportunities that are being made available to us by the signing of these two agreements."

The PM was joined by Agriculture Minister Jose Mai; Chris Coye, the Finance Minister of State; Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie; Narda Garcia, the CEO of the Office of the Prime Minister; Oscar Arnold, Belize's Ambassador to Mexico, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Investment, the Economic Development Council, and BELTRAIDE.