Dubai: Mexican expatriates in the UAE marked their 204th Independence Day at the Ritz-Carlton in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Suhail Bin Mohammad Faraj Faris Al Mazroui, Minister of Energy, attended the reception hosted by Francisco Alonso, Ambassador of Mexico to the UAE. A number of senior officials and heads of Arab and foreign diplomatic missions in the country also attended the reception.
The Mexican Independence Day is celebrated every September 16, the day that started a decade-long revolution in 1810 from centuries of colonisation from Spain. Mexican independence was officially declared on September 28, 1821.
Mexican cuisine and entertainment marked the celebration in the capital. A similar celebration, where a Mexican Mercado (market), was held in Dubai over the weekend.
There are between 3,500 and 3,800 Mexicans in the UAE working in different fields, namely, aviation, hospitality, health care, trade, and education, among others.
Alonso said the number is increasing as more Mexicans are opting to work in the UAE.
“More and more Mexicans are coming into the UAE. Mexicans are active, dynamic, positive and constructive people,” Alonso told Gulf News.
But he encouraged them to keep their connections to their homeland as the country is surging positively forward.
“With the leadership of our president, Mexico is moving for the future. Reform is in all areas, in education, oil, telecommunications, tourism, among others. We have changed our mentality in order to open to more investments [from the UAE and the region],” Alonso said.
