The 2011 Law on International Co-operation for Development (LCID, by its abbreviation in Spanish) serves as a basis for Mexico’s international development co-operation. Mexico’s international development co-operation promotes a comprehensive set of social, economic and environmental activities in line with the 2030 Agenda. The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) co-ordinates the federal government’s international development co-operation and is responsible for establishing the necessary mechanisms and tools to plan, monitor and evaluate development activities, with transparency, results-orientation and effectiveness as core principles.
Development Co-operation Profiles
Report
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Mexico
Introduction
Policy
Mexico’s international development co-operation is implemented through a wide variety of modalities mostly in the context of South-South and triangular co‑operation projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, and with a special focus on northern Central America. Mexico seeks to contribute to the sustainable human development of its partner countries and strengthen the effective management of its development co-operation through multi-stakeholder partnerships, including with the private sector, civil society, academia, local governments and international organisations. This approach led to the adoption of a toolkit to manage partnerships with multiple stakeholders, launched in 2021. In various international fora, Mexico advocates for strengthening South-South and triangular co-operation practices and for taking into consideration the specificities of southern providers in the internationally agreed-upon development Effectiveness Principles.
In 2023, Mexico’s international development co-operation strengthened its offer by expanding the geographic focus of its actions as a leading provider of South-South co-operation. AMEXCID notably made an effort to expand its operations in the African continent, setting technical co-operation projects with Kenya and Sao Tomé and Principe. It is now also assessing the possibility of launching projects with Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa, among others.
In 2023, AMEXCID co-ordinated the implementation of 480 international development co-operation projects. In 267 projects, Mexico, on the recipient side of the co-operation equation, partnered with traditional donors and international organisations. Of the remaining projects, the majority (198) were South-South co-operation and the remainder triangular co-operation. In addition to these efforts, AMEXCID has managed 201 scholarships for foreigners and has co-ordinated five scientific research projects.
Promoting regional co-operation through a Comprehensive Development Plan
The “Comprehensive Development Plan” was initially proposed by Mexico. It was welcomed and enriched by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and elaborated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The plan’s fundamental purpose is to formulate a diagnosis and offer recommendations to advance toward a new style of development and generate a new vision regarding the complexity of the migratory process in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
In practice, the plan’s main objective is to raise the living standards and well-being of the various migration-prone populations and to help transform the southern states of Mexico and northern Central America into a peaceful and prosperous region. With this effort, Mexico is reinforcing its existing commitment to international and regional development while strengthening co-operation and deepening historical ties with individual countries from the region.
Mexico achieved its preliminary goal of reaching 20 000 beneficiaries in El Salvador and Honduras through 2 initial programmes: 1) promoting sustainable agriculture in specific rural areas; and 2) assisting young people in urban and suburban areas in building their skills to enter the formal labour market. These programmes are also being implemented in Belize, Cuba and Guatemala. Ecuador and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will also benefit from them soon.
In the same area, the partnership between AMEXCID and the United States Agency for International Development to support the region in tackling the root causes of increased undocumented migration flows, including unaccompanied children and youth, has continued to work effectively. Importantly, Canada has also joined these efforts.
Mexico’s international development co-operation
Mexico accounts for its development co-operation through a self-developed methodology,1 reflecting the specific characteristics of South-South co-operation and, more recently, adding triangular co-operation with multiple stakeholders. Using this methodology of valuing South-South co-operation, and according to Mexico’s records, preliminary figures for Mexico’s development co-operation totalled USD 119.6 million in 2020.
In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, by December 2021, Mexico had donated over 1.3 million vaccine doses, mainly to Central America and the Caribbean, with the support of the country’s private sector.2 Mexico is a member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a multilateral initiative that promotes the production and distribution of vaccines for developing countries.
As a provider of South-South co-operation, Mexico started reporting on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) for the first time in 2022 on 2020 activities. In 2022, Mexico reported USD 123.7 million in support of sustainable development, of which USD 42.6 million was cross-border resources to TOSSD recipients and USD 81.1 million supported regional and global expenditures for sustainable development. Sixteen entities participated in Mexico’s TOSSD reporting on 2022 activities.
Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals
In 2022, Mexico’s support for sustainable development mainly contributed to advancing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 (quality education), SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
Cross-border resources to TOSSD recipients (Pillar 1)
Geographic allocation
In 2022, USD 41 million (97%) of Mexico’s cross-border resources to TOSSD recipients were allocated to individual countries and regions. In total, Mexico’s cross-border flows reached 63 countries in 2022. Most of this financing was provided to recipients in the Americas (93%), in line with Mexico’s programmatic objectives to prioritise development activities in Central America, the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America. Partners receiving the largest support included Colombia and Cuba. Around 3% (USD 1.3 million) was unallocated by region.
Sectoral distribution
In 2022, USD 38 million (89%) of Mexico’s cross-border resources targeted social infrastructure and services in TOSSD recipients. A vast majority of this financing was allocated to the education sector (USD 36.3 million), representing 85% of Mexico’s cross-border flows to TOSSD recipients. Humanitarian assistance amounted to USD 2 million (5%).
Regional and global expenditures in support of sustainable development (Pillar 2)
In 2022, Mexico extended USD 81.1 million in support of international public goods, development enablers and global challenges, accounting for 66.5% of its TOSSD. Contributions to the general budget of multilateral institutions (core contributions, both assessed and voluntary) accounted for 82% of Mexico’s Pillar 2 contributions.
Triangular co-operation
Mexico engages in triangular co-operation as it represents an innovative approach to share Mexican co-operation’s best practices in many sectors, such as the environment, climate change, energy, urban development, migration, education and economic development, among others. Triangular co-operation also helps Mexico strategically engage at the regional level with partners such as Chile, Germany, Japan and Spain.
In 2022 and according to its TOSSD reporting, Mexico’s main beneficiaries were Cuba, Ecuador and Guatemala. The main sectors of its triangular co‑operation were government and civil society, health, and other social infrastructure and services. Mexico engaged in 12 activities and disbursed USD 349 800 of TOSSD for triangular co-operation in 2022.
According to AMEXCID records, Mexico engaged in 15 triangular co-operation projects in 2023; the main areas were agriculture and livestock, the environment, and strengthening institutions and public policies.
Learn more about triangular co-operation and Mexico’s projects in this area through the OECD’s voluntary triangular co-operation project repository. Mexico is a core group member of the Global Partnership Initiative on Effective Triangular Co-operation. In 2023, AMEXCID produced a Spotlight paper regarding Mexico’s approach on triangular co-operation projects.
Learn more about triangular co-operation.
Institutional set-up
The 2011 Law on International Co-operation for Development mandated the federal government to set up a national system for international development co-operation, including an agency (AMEXCID); a national Program of International Co-operation for Development (PROCID); a National Registry of International Development Co-operation (RENCID); and a budgetary account, the International Development Co-operation Trust. This account, however, was discontinued by Congress in 2021, so resources are now being allocated through the annual budget.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has overall responsibility for Mexico’s development co-operation agenda in its dual role as a provider and a recipient of development co-operation, which is co-ordinated by AMEXCID and implemented by a wide variety of public institutions under the premise of development co-operation centered on people and based on results, transparency and effectiveness. AMEXCID is also responsible for generating the tools necessary to programme, co-ordinate, implement, monitor, report on and evaluate Mexico’s international development co-operation.
To meet the provisions of the Law on International Co-operation for Development, AMEXCID co-ordinates the data collection platform, RENCID, on which government agencies register their international development co-operation actions, including: technical and scientific co-operation projects; scholarships granted to foreigners; and monetary contributions to international organisations, financial co-operation, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid provided by Mexico.
Moreover, Mexico discloses international development co-operation data to the public through the annual Mexican international development co-operation Quantification Report, based on the RENCID database and the Co-operation Catalogue, which collects qualitative and quantitative data on its development co-operation.
AMEXCID prepared Mexico’s PROCID for the period 2021-24 in consultation with relevant federal government agencies, and for the first time with input from civil society organisations, academia and the private sector, keeping at the centre of its goals progress on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The latest PROCID was published in Mexico’s Official Gazette in December 2021.
Additional resources
Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) website: https://www.gob.mx/amexcid
AMEXCID (2023), Cooperation Report: AMEXCID 2023, Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation, https://infoamexcid.sre.gob.mx/consejo/media/documents/3Kzu2_141223.pdf
GPI (2023), Implementing BAPA+40 through triangular co-operation – Case story: Mexico, https://triangular-cooperation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GPI-Spotlight-Mexico-final.pdf
Member of the OECD since 1994. Not a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Observer to the TOSSD Task Force in 2023. Reporting to TOSSD since 2022, on 2020 data.
Mexico is an Adherent to the OECD Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on Managing the Risk of Corruption and the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development. Mexico hosted the first High-level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation and has been both a co-chair and a member of its Steering Committee. It is also a founding member of the core group of the Global Partnership Initiative on Effective Triangular Co‑operation.
Mexico has been an observer of the International TOSSD Task Force since 2021 and became a member of the International Forum on TOSSD in 2024. Mexico started reporting TOSSD data on 2020 activities on a pilot basis and reports annually to TOSSD as of 2021 activities.
Notes
← 1. The Mexican methodology for the quantification of international development co-operation includes disbursements on technical and scientific co-operation; scholarships for foreign students from developing countries; co-operation channelled through multilateral institutions focused on promoting development; reimbursable financial co-operation (only the grant element of loans); other non-reimbursable financial co-operation; and humanitarian aid. It also includes the value of the technical co-operation based on the exchange of public servants who share their experience on the implementation of public policies, institutional or technical management models, or technology developed and/or improved in Mexico.
← 2. Belize, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.