Mexico to strengthen Caribbean energy ties

Mexico aims to expand co-operation with Jamaica in the energy arena, the country’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray said on Tuesday.

While on an official visit to the Caribbean region, Secretary Videgaray said that one goal was to establish Mexican oilfield services providers and investors in Jamaica to develop the island’s hydrocarbons industry. He also said that partnerships of this kind could be seen as models for other tie-ups in neighbouring islands.

“What we do in Jamaica can be a learning experience for what we do with other Caribbean countries,” Secretary Videgaray told reporters ahead of signing an MoU regarding technical co-operation for Jamaican refinery Petrojam.

The Mexican secretary’s visit follows that of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who last month toured South America and the Caribbean, in part to garner multilateral support for actions to pressure Venezuela’s government to adopt more democratic approaches and lessen the strain of that country’s internal crisis on the region.

Venezuela has historically had a strong influence on the Caribbean, mainly due to its large oil and gas industry. Under the Petrocaribe programme which started in 2005, the South American country exports oil to several island nations under special conditions.