PM Modi thanks Mexico for supporting India's NSG membership

NEW DELHI: Days after it got Switzerland's backing, India on Thursday gained support from Mexico, as well, for its bid to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Thursday that his country positively and constructively supports India's membership to the NSG."I thank the President for supporting India's membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group," PM Modi said in statement, hours after his arrival in Mexico on a state visit.The US has for a while now supported India's entry into the Group, even as China remains against it, saying that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NSG aims to control proliferation of nuclear weapons.Getting NSG membership will give India access to technology that will help it in a variety of areas, ranging from medicine to building nuclear plants.Earlier this week, India also gained entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a non-proliferation group. Being a member of both the NSG and the MTCR will give India greater access to research and technology.Before the PM spoke, President Enrique Peña Nieto also said that Mexico positively and constructively supports India's membership of the NSG.In his statement , PM Modi focussed on the warm ties between India and Mexico. He said Mexico was the first Latin American country to recognize India."We are meeting for the third time in last two years. I truly value your friendship Mr. President," Modi said. "Mexico is an important partner for India's energy security. We are looking to move beyond buyer-seller relationship and into a long-term partnership," the PM added.Modi, who will hold bilateral talks with President Peña Nieto, is the first Indian prime minister to go on a state visit to Mexico, since former PM Rajiv Gandhi's trip in 1986. Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh did visit Mexico in 2012, but it was for a G20 Summit.Earlier, amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', the Indian community in Mexico City welcomed the Prime Minister who arrived in Mexico on the final-leg of his five-nation tour."I thank the Indian community in Mexico City for a very warm welcome," Modi tweeted."Memorable welcome for PM Narendra Modi in Mexico City. The enthusiastic Indian community turns out in large numbers," tweeted the Prime Minister's Office.Mexico's President Peña Nieto also tweeted welcoming Modi."It's an honor to welcome you to our country, PM Narendra Modi. I trust that your stay in Mexico will be both productive and pleasant," tweeted Peña Nieto.As he landed in Mexico City, the PM's office tweeted, "Reached Mexico City. The visit is brief but substantial ground will be covered in my talks with @PresidenciaMX.""Hola México! PM Narendra Modi lands in Mexico city for an important evening of diplomacy," Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.The PM was given a red-carpet welcome at the Mexico City airport where he was received by Mexico's Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz-Massieu Salinas."A familiar face. PM Narendra Modi is received by Ms Claudia Ruiz Massieu Salinas, Foreign Minister," Swarup tweeted.Later today, President Peña Nieto will host a dinner in honour of PM Modi, following which Modi will leave for India via Frankfurt.Briefing the media before the PM's five-nation tour in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had said, "This visit's origins lie in a meeting which Prime Minister had with the President of Mexico at the UNGA (UN General Assembly) last September. The President was very keen that he (Prime Minister) should visit Mexico early. This March, the Foreign Minister of Mexico was here and we discussed taking this further.""We have a growing trade with Mexico. Today, the two-way trade is about $6 billion approximately, and there are a lot of possibilities. Our pharmaceutical and automotive exports to Mexico are particularly strong, and we do import crude oil from Mexico. We are actually the largest importer of crude oil from Mexico in Asia and the third largest globally. So, you will see in Mexico a fair amount of discussion on scaling up economic cooperation," he said."We expect to have at the President-Prime Ministerial level exchange of views on the world situation. But we do expect that the focus of discussions would be on bilateral cooperation, especially bilateral economic cooperation. We look Latin American countries, in terms of economic cooperation Mexico kind of ranks right up there. But there is still a feeling that there are opportunities which we should be exploiting better. There are already Indian companies in Mexico and Mexican companies here (in India), but the expectation is that particularly on the investment side, there would be a greater push," added the Foreign Secretary.