Mexican ambassador Jaime Nualart in Calcutta on Monday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, Jan. 25: Mexico will hold talks with India for a free trade agreement (FTA) in May this year.

“Such negotiations take time and we are at a preliminary stage. A committee on economic and trade relations will meet Indian officials in May this year. The FTA is one of the major issues to be discussed at the meeting in Mexico,” Jaime Nualart, the ambassador of Mexico to India, said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here today.

This will be Mexico’s second meeting on the FTA with India. In 2007, Mexico signed two agreements with India — a bilateral investment promotion and protection pact and a memorandum of understanding to set up a high-level group of officials to look for areas of synergy. The investment promotion agreement, which will be in force for 10 years, also provides free repatriation of funds by an investor of either country.

According to the ambassador, Mexico is keen on foreign direct investments from India in mining.

“We seek Indian FDI in the mining sector in our country,” Nualart said.