Mexico submits request to join IEA

Mexico submitted on Monday a request to join the International Energy Agency as the energy policy adviser to industrialised countries seeks to expand its member base.

Mexican Secretary of Energy Pedro Joaquín Coldwell presented IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol with a letter requesting to join the organisation that currently includes 29 member countries, the IEA said in a statement.

"This presents an excellent opportunity for the IEA to strengthen its ties with Mexico, and opens the door to greater engagement across Latin America. It is a key step towards our objective of building a truly global international energy organisation," Birol said.

The Paris-based IEA was founded in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil shock in order to advise western economies on how to deal with supply disruption. The organisation has in recent years tried to expand and include developing economies, creating partnerships with countries including China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand.

Mexico is the third-largest oil producer of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to the IEA.

Once the IEA's governing board approves the request, the IEA will work with Mexico on steps required to meet its conditions for membership, including the need to hold oil reserves eqiuvalent to 90 days of net imports.