RIYADH, 7 July — The Mexican Embassy in Riyadh will be closed by the end of July for economic reasons, it was announced here yesterday. The Mexican Foreign Ministry took the decision as part of a government move to cut down on expenditures.
Mexican Ambassador in Riyadh Edgardo Flores Rivas said the decision was taken in the light of predictions made by economists that the Latin American country would be facing economic difficulties next year. "So precautionary measures are being taken to avoid additional burden on the 2003 budget," he said.
He said his country had also decided to shut down its embassies in four other countries, but did not name them. Rivas expressed hope that the Riyadh embassy would be reopened soon after the country gains economic recovery. Mexico will take the help of either its embassy in Cairo or a Latin American embassy in Riyadh to provide consular services for its estimated 300 citizens in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
The ambassador highlighted the strong relations between Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
