Join us as we welcome Gavin Cook, His Majesty's Ambassador to Peru & Jon Benjamin, His Majesty's Ambassador to Mexico on Monday 12th June from 15:50-16:50 BST.
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Join us as we welcome Gavin Cook, His Majesty's Ambassador to Peru & Jon Benjamin, His Majesty's Ambassador to Mexico on Monday 12th June from 15:50-16:50 BST.
Mexico
With a population of almost 130 million, a rich cultural history and diversity, and abundant natural resources, Mexico is among the 15 largest economies in the world and the second-largest economy in Latin America. The country has solid macroeconomic institutions, is open to trade, and has a diversified manufacturing base connected to global value chains.
The Mexican economy grew by 3.1% in 2022, after a bounce back of 4.7% in 2021, and a 8.0% fall in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy has recovered its employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) pre-pandemic levels. Mexico’s stable macroeconomic framework, the U.S. dynamism, and solid manufacturing base will support economic growth.
To accelerate sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction over the medium term, Mexico needs to address structural constraints such as limited access to finance, insecurity, informality, regulatory burdens, and infrastructure bottlenecks. Tackling these challenges is essential to fully seize the opportunity that nearshoring represents in the current international environment
Jon Benjamin became His Majesty’s Ambassador to Mexico in August 2021. Jon joined the Diplomatic Service in 1986, and has previously represented the British government in Chile, Ghana, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States, during his 35-year career.
Prior to assuming his role as ambassador, Jon was director of the Diplomatic Academy in London, where he was responsible for the creation and implementation of an academy that ensures that those in the British foreign service and others working internationally for the government have the skills and diplomatic and linguistic knowledge they need to implement UK foreign policy.
He served as UK Ambassador to Chile (2009 to 2014), High Commissioner to Ghana (2014 to 2017), as well as concurrent Ambassador to several other neighbouring countries in West Africa. He was also Consul General in New York, having represented the United Kingdom in Indonesia and Turkey. Among those overseas assignments, in London, he also headed the Human Rights department and was chief of staff for the Minister for European Affairs.
Peru
After a rapid post-pandemic recovery, GDP grew by 2.7 percent in 2022, driven by domestic demand and exports. Exports increased thanks to the elimination of health restrictions and the beginning of production of the Quellaveco mining project.
GDP growth in 2023 will reach an estimated 2.4 percent, led by primary sectors and services. The pace of growth is expected to increase slightly over the next few years, to approximately 2.8 percent, assuming a gradual improvement in business confidence and renewed investment in large-scale mining projects.
Overall, Peru's macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong. Public debt as a percentage of GDP is low, international reserves are sizeable and the Central Bank is reliable. Important structural challenges for the Peruvian economy include reducing the relative size of the informal sector, which employs three-quarters of workers in low productivity jobs, and improving the quality of government services such as education, health and water. Overcoming these challenges is critical for driving Peru’s long-term growth.
Gavin Cook has served as British Ambassador to Peru since April 2022.
He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2002. He was Deputy Head of Mission in Ghana, and has done postings in Ethiopia and Ukraine. Gavin has held a range of positions in the UK, including Deputy Director Strategy/Head of Policy Unit, Head of the Repatriation Taskforce, Deputy Head of Consular Assistance, and Chief Media Officer for the Middle East and North Africa during the Arab Spring. He has also done several secondments to the Cabinet Office, including the National Security Secretariat (Gulf/Iran), and worked on Civilian European Security and Defence Policy, and Turkey.
