Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

hold

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

, both being members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

History

Due to a vast distance between Afghanistan and Mexico, the relation between the two nations never developed into one of high priority. Both nations established diplomatic ties on the 27 June 1961. Since then, bilateral relations are mainly conducted at international forums such as the

. In 1962, Mexico accredited its first ambassador to Afghanistan, resident in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, India. The ambassador was

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

. During Paz's time as ambassador in India, he kept a journal of his travels to Afghanistan writing about his journey from New Delhi to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and his experiences and he documented presenting his credentials to former Afghan King

Mohammed Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan ...

. Paz turned his journal into a book called "Viento Entero." From 1980 to 1981, Mexico was on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and voted in favor of Resolution 462 condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Resolution was adopted. When Mexico was again a member of the UN Security Council from 2002 to 2003; it voted on numerous occasions in favor of maintaining Afghanistan's independence and sovereignty of the country ( Resolution 1444 and Resolution 1453) and extending the UN Assistance Mission mandate in the country ( Resolution 1471). From 2009 to 2010, Mexico again as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council voted in favor of UN Resolution 1868 and UN Resolution 1890. Since the beginning of the U.S led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; many Afghan migrants have travelled to Mexico in order to enter the United States. Furthermore, several Mexican narcotic cartels have been operating in Afghanistan by using fake "

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

" companies to hire smugglers in the country to smuggle drugs and weapons from Afghanistan to Europe and the United States. Throughout the years, several Afghan migrants have traveled through Mexico to reach the United States and are forced to wait in Mexico while their U.S. asylum cases are reviewed and processed. In August 2021, with the return of control of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

in Afghanistan; Mexico announced it would issue refugee visas to Afghan refugees, in particular women and children, from its embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and resettle them in Mexico. Immediately afterwards, over 100 Afghan refugees arrived to Mexico. Afghanistan's embassy in the United States was accredited to Mexico until it closed on March 16, 2022. The Mexican Embassy in Tehran is accredited to Afghanistan.

Trade

In 2018, bilateral trade between Afghanistan and Mexico amounted to US$9 million. Afghanistan is Mexico's 165th biggest global trading partner while at the same time, Mexico is Afghanistan's 63rd biggest trading partner. Afghanistan's main exports to Mexico include: mobile phones, machine and automobile parts. Mexico's main exports to Afghanistan include: refrigerators, beer, plastic and silicone.

Diplomatic missions

* Mexico is accredited to Afghanistan from its embassy in

.Embassy of Mexico in Tehran
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan-Mexico

Bilateral relations of Mexico