Blog of President Calderón’s 4 day State Visit to the UK by HM Ambassador to Mexico, Giles Paxman

As most of you will know, President Felipe Calderón paid a State Visit to London and Aberdeen on 30 March to 2 April accompanied by his wife, Sra. Margarita Zavala and a delegation including the Mexican Secretaries for Foreign Affairs, Finance, the Economy, Energy, and the Environment, as well as senior business people and journalists. This was the first State visit by a Mexican President since Miguel de la Madrid in 1985, although President Calderón had paid an official visit to London shortly after he took office in January 2007. The visit included the President’s attendance at the G20 London Summit on stability, growth and jobs on 2 April.  Here I have included a detailed account of each day.

Day 1
The President arrived privately on 30 March in order to be ready for the ceremonial welcome on 30 March.  This took place on Horseguards Parade in bright sunshine and with full pomp and ceremony. It was followed by a carriage procession down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the President and close members of his suite stayed throughout the visit.  By the time they reached the Palace, where another Guard of Honour greeted them, the President had begun to realise that a State Visit to the UK, at the personal invitation of The Queen, was something very special.  The Queen helped them to settle in by offering drinks and a private lunch with members of the Royal Family, where conversation flowed freely.

The Presidential Party then left for Westminster Abbey, where the President laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was given a short tour of the Abbey. Following this the President paid a call on the Prime Minister at No 10 Downing Street where discussion covered the agenda for the London Summit, the economic situation in both countries, prospects for the WTO Doha Round and international climate change negotiations.  The President then returned to Buckingham palace where he held meetings with the leaders of the conservative and Liberal democratic parties.

In the evening The Queen offered a State Banquet, which thrilled the President and the Mexican party.

Day 2
The President left for Aberdeen, accompanied by the Duke of York, on an aircraft of The Queen’s Flight early next morning. Again, amazingly, the sun shone as they were taken to the headquarters of BP where the President (a former energy minister) was given a presentation on the company’s latest sub-sea technology.

Arriving at the Town House, the President heard a presentation from Scottish and Southern Energy, focussing on renewable energies, before meeting a number of Scottish companies active in the energy field in Britain and Mexico.  He was then entertained to lunch by the Lord Provost with local dignitaries and business people.

Back in London, and still accompanied by the Duke of York, the President spoke and answered questions about the advantages of doing business in Mexico at a United Kingdom/Mexico Business Seminar at the Skinners Hall. This was attended by the Lord Mayor and the Minister for Trade and Investment (who also spoke about Britain as a business location) and a packed audience of Mexican and British business people, many of whom had come to Britain to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the visit.
In the evening, the Presidential party attended a Banquet at the Guildhall at which President Calderón and the Lord Mayor were able to present their business messages to some 700 guests from the business and financial communities.

Day 3
The third day began with a breakfast for industry leaders from Britain and Mexico at Buckingham Palace attended by the Duke of York and the Secretary of State for BERR and the bosses of BA, Arcelor Mittal, HSBC, BP, Shell, Lloyds, Diageo, Cadbury, and BAT, amongst others. After an initial presentation by President Calderón, discussion covered opportunities in the oil and gas industry and renewable energy, the regulatory environment and red tape, access to the Mexican insurance market, fiscal issues, US trade policy, the DOHA round and protectionism.

The President then travelled to the Royal Society, for an event organised by the British Council as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations, at which he gave a lecture on the subject of climate change and the environment to an audience of British Council contacts, academics and Chevening scholars. This being a subject close to his heart, and on which Mexico is keen to develop its international role, the President spoke with conviction, frequently departing from his prepared text, emphasising in particular Mexico’s proposal for a “Green Fund” financing mechanism to help countries to face up to the challenges of climate change. He then went on to a private lunch for senior journalists and editors at the Mexican Ambassador’s residence.

Later in the day the President went to the House of Lords where, after a full ceremonial welcome, he gave a speech about “Mexico in the World” to Members of both Houses in the Robing Room. Here, as with all his other speeches apart from those at the State and Guildhall banquets, he endeared himself to his audience by speaking in English.

In the evening the President attended a reception at Buckingham Palace for the assembled G20 leaders followed by a dinner at No 10.

Day 4
The President spent all of day 4 of the visit at the G20 London summit in the Excel Centre.  This was followed by a brief departure ceremony at Buckingham Palace before the President left for the airport, where he gave a press conference before leaving.