Pariksha SaathiIndia and Mexico sign the Terms of Reference, formally launching negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement
India and Mexico have signed the Terms of Reference for negotiations on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which establish the framework, scope, modalities and roadmap for negotiations aimed at creating new economic opportunities for both countries, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 28 October 2026. The signing formally launches negotiations for a mutually beneficial and balanced PTA, with the potential to expand bilateral trade, create business opportunities, enhance investment flows and contribute to resilient and diversified supply chains. The initiative follows the understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada in June 2025, when the two leaders agreed to further strengthen and deepen the India-Mexico partnership. During the visit of Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, the two delegations discussed bilateral relations and opportunities to expand trade and investment flows; the discussions were held with Mexico's Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez Romano, who participated on behalf of Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon. The Terms of Reference cover key negotiating areas, including market access for goods, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, dispute settlement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and trade remedies. The proposed agreement seeks to leverage the complementarities between the two economies; the release describes Mexico, with its strong linkages to global value chains, as an important market for Indian exporters and investors, and names automotive, chemicals, electronics, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, energy, critical minerals, medical devices and advanced manufacturing among the sectors with significant potential for cooperation. Both sides also discussed the possibility of organising a Mexican business mission to India during the first quarter of 2027.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
On 17 June 2025 the Prime Minister's Office reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met the President of Mexico, Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada - the first meeting between the two leaders - and had congratulated her on her historic victory; he also thanked her for the support extended by Mexico in India's fight against terrorism. The two leaders agreed to work towards further expanding ties in trade, investment, start-ups, innovation, science and technology and the automotive sector, and to promote people-to-people exchanges. Noting with satisfaction the growing trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, they discussed the opportunities offered by Mexico in the context of near-shoring, and the growing opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector, where India can play an important role in supplying and producing affordable quality medicines, figured prominently in the discussions. The Prime Minister also said the two countries should explore collaboration in the fields of semiconductors, AI, quantum and critical minerals, recalled his visit to Mexico in 2016 and invited President Sheinbaum to visit India.
Check yourself: where did Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico hold their first meeting, and in which year had the Prime Minister visited Mexico?
On the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada (reported on 17 June 2025); in 2016.
Revision task: from this release, note what the Terms of Reference establish, the negotiating areas they cover, the sectors with potential for cooperation, the Indian and Mexican officials named and the business mission being considered; from the note, where Prime Minister Modi first met President Sheinbaum, the areas in which they agreed to expand ties and the year of the Prime Minister's visit to Mexico.
Test yourself
India and Mexico have signed the Terms of Reference to formally launch negotiations for which type of trade agreement?
Show the answer
Answer: Preferential Trade Agreement
The signing of the Terms of Reference, which establish the framework, scope, modalities and roadmap for the negotiations, formally launches negotiations for a mutually beneficial and balanced Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India and Mexico, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 28 October 2026. The initiative follows the understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Claudia Sheinbaum at their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada in June 2025.
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