MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Friday he does not rule out the possibility of a “quick result” in negotiations with the United States and Canada over an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico’s top diplomat emphasized that progress is being made on various issue-specific tables of the negotiation, noting that he met in Washington on Thursday with both the top U.S. and Mexican negotiators. He said the three leading negotiators are to meet again on Friday in the U.S. capital.
“An agreement in the next few days is difficult to see but a quick result can’t be ruled out either,” he said in an interview with local broadcaster Televisa.
After more than eight months of slow-moving talks to rework NAFTA, the three countries are keen to settle the process as quickly as possible, citing the need to finish before Mexico’s July 1 presidential election.
“Without a doubt, the work is advancing,” Videgaray said.
His upbeat comments match similarly positive remarks on Thursday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Quebec City.
Mexico’s top trade negotiator, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, has said the three nations could make an announcement about progress on an updated NAFTA at a regional summit in Peru next week.
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and David Alire Garcia; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott
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