India and Mexico have striking similarities in geo-climatic conditions, biodiversity, physiognomy and people, cultural and family values, as well as European connections of the colonial period. Both are heirs to great civilizational heritage. The contacts between the two countries indicatively go back by centuries. Different varieties of Mexican chilies were taken to Goa via the Philippines in the late 16th century, just as tamarind came from India to Mexico and became an important part of their cuisine. According to legend, an Indian princess called Meera landed in Mexico in the 17th century, and is well- known here as ´La China Poblana´. Indian revolutionary M.N. Roy was also in Mexico in the early 20th century and played an important role in the establishment of the Communist Party. A well-known Indian freedom fighter, Pandurang Khankhoje, lived in Mexico for years, working as an agricultural scientist. Famous painter Satish Gujral was one of the first Indian students to visit Mexico, and worked with legendary Mexican painters such as Diego Rivera. The writings of Nobel-laureate Octavio Paz, Ambassador to India in the 60´s, and an Indophile, had a profound impact of his long experiences in India. Mexican wheat varieties were used for producing the Indo-Mexican hybrids, the backbone of India´s Green Revolution in the 60s. Mexico was the first country in Latin America to establish diplomatic relations with India, immediately after the Indian Independence. First Indian Ambassador to Mexico, Smt. Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, resident in the US, presented her credentials in February 1951. Mexico appointed an ex-President, Emilio Portes Gil, as its first Ambassador to India the same year.

India-Mexico relations have long been characterized by warmth, friendship and commonality of views on a wide range of issues. Among common Mexicans, there is wide general awareness and high interest for Indian culture, social values and her pluralistic democracy based on accommodation and tolerance. Indian heroes like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Tagore, and Mother Teresa are widely admired. Mahatma Gandhi’s statues adorn three major cities in Mexico, viz., Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Acapulco, and roads and several schools are named after him. India’s achievements in the economic, education, scientific and technological fields, especially in recent years, are also greatly admired.

•Cultural Agreement (1975)
•Agreement for Cooperation in S&T (1975)
•Cultural Exchange Programme (2005)
•Educational Exchange Programme (2005)
•Agreement on Visa Exemption on Diplomatic & Official Passports(2005)
•MOU on Cooperation in SMEs (2006)
•Extradition Treaty (2007)
•Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters (2007)
•Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (2007)
•Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2007)
•Air Services Agreement (2008)
•MOU on Cooperation in the Field of New and Renewable Energy (2008)

Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (1961)
Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi (1981)
President Shri Giani Zail Singh (1984)
Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi (1986)
President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil (2008)

Shri M.A.A. Fatmi, MOS for Human Resource Development (February 2006); Shri Mahabir Prasad, Minister for Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries (March 2006); Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science & Technology and Ocean Development (June 2006); Shri Anand Sharma, MOS for External Affairs (December 2006); Km. Selja, Minister for Housing & Urban Development (October 2007); Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss (August 2008); and Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for Panchayati Raj and Development of the North Eastern Region (November 2008).

President Adolfo Lopez Mateos (1962)
President Luis Echeverria Álvarez (1975)
President Jose Lopez Portillo (1981)
President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (1985)
President Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (2007)

Crude oil, fertilizers, iron & steel, electrical and mechanical equipments, photographic products, auto parts.

Software and IT, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, renewable energy, biotechnology, auto parts, minerals.

Investments from India in Mexico have been around US$ 1.5 billion. (There is also major investment of the Arcelor-Mittal Group in steel and mining.)  Most of the leading Indian companies in IT/software (TCS, Infosys, NIIT, Aptech, Hexaware, Wipro, Patni Computer Systems etc.) and pharmaceuticals (Ranbaxy, Strides Labs, Claris Life Sciences, Wockhardt, Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, and Solara, etc.) sectors have set up joint ventures in Mexico taking advantage of its strategic location, large market and investment-friendly policies.  In 2008, JK Tyres of India bought Mexican tyre company Tornel. Leading Mexican companies like Homex and Cinepolis have likewise invested in India in recent times.

IMBC was formally launched in Mexico by Foreign Minister Dr. Luis Ernesto Derbez on 27 October 2006 with the objective to play a vital, catalytic role towards full realization of the potential of bilateral trade and economic relations through enhanced business-to-business contacts and interaction with the concerned governmental authorities. A delegation from IMBC accompanied the Mexican Economy Minister to India in May 2007. IMBC was also instrumental, in coordination with ProMexico (an official Mexican promotional agency), in organizing a large business delegation from Mexico to India that accompanied the President of Mexico to India in September 2007, and coordinated the meetings of the CII delegation that accompanied the Indian President to Mexico in April 2008. IMBC has been expanding fast and opened a chapter in Guadalajara. It has a membership at present of more than 50 companies.

Given high interest in art and culture in Mexico, including in Indian culture, Indian cultural troupes regularly visit Mexico and participate in famous international cultural festivals in Mexico, such as Cervantino and Fiesta de Octubre. Indian and Mexican writers exchange visits, and Indian Council for Cultural Relations offers four scholarships to Mexicans every year. Several Mexicans have spent years in India learning Indian classical dances, as well as music, and are running their own schools in Mexico for teaching these dances etc. The Colegio de Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) also have important centres of Indian studies.

The number of Mexicans going to India is on the increase; between 2002 and 2006, the number of visas issued by the Embassy in Mexico increased by over 50%. In 2008, more than 7,000 visas were issued.

The Indian community of PIOs/NRIs in Mexico is small, numbering just about 1,000 persons. A majority of them lives in Mexico City, and the rest are spread in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Cuernavaca, Queretaro etc.
The community mainly comprises professionals and businessmen. While there are scientist in agriculture, physics, electronics as well as researchers in energy sector on the one hand, there are small-time merchants and whole-sale traders too, most of them in textile / garment industry. There are a few professors in leading universities like UNAM, ITAM and Tech de Monterrey. The Colegio de Mexico has a special India Section in which there are Indian professors of ancient Indian History and Sanskrit.
An Indian Women’s Association in Mexico (IWAM) was established at the Embassy’s initiative in 2005. Through an array of cultural, philanthropic and other activities, IWAM has been playing a useful role in welding the Indian community together and promoting cultural understanding between India and Mexico.
There are two Indian restaurants in Mexico City, Dawat and Kohinoor, as well as a few elsewhere. Indian cuisine is regarded highly and is popular.
There are a Sikh Centre, one Gurudwarda, and one ISKCON Temple in Mexico City.