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MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Vicente Fox says he will visit Utah, but a date has not been confirmed, said Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
After meeting Wednesday with Fox, Huntsman said Fox might make the trip as early as October or as late as March. The governor hopes it's sooner than later.
Huntsman said Fox's visit to Utah is important to his "Utah-Mexico Alliance for Prosperity" plan, which he hopes fosters more trade, educational and cultural ties between the two governments. But, the plan's success won't be determined by the trip.
"I hope it's this year," Huntsman said of Fox's trip. "If he doesn't visit, we're still going to get this going."
Huntsman wrapped up two days of meetings with Mexican leaders Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Utah today.
The governor's 30-minute meeting with Fox also was attended by 15 people representing Utah and Mexico. A scheduled news conference following the session was canceled at the last minute.
The meeting was "really informal," and Fox didn't even wear his suit coat, Huntsman said. The two talked about immigration, Huntsman's prosperity plan and promoting more direct flights between Utah and Mexico City.
On immigration, Huntsman said Fox supported the state's new driving privilege card system, which provides mostly undocumented workers with a card to drive. The law does not allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a Utah driver license that can be used as identification for other government purposes.
"He thanked us for compromising and continuing mobility in our state," Huntsman said.
The governor said immigration is a big topic that came up in many of his discussions. He spent most of his 90-minute breakfast talking to Santiago Creel, a retired Mexican security department head and the presidential candidate for Fox's party because Fox cannot seek another term as president.
Even though immigration is a federal issue, Huntsman said he's going to start talks with governors from other Western states about possible plans for immigration reform. He said he's going to look into scheduling a summit for that purpose.
Utah is home to roughly 200,000 Mexicans, according to the Office of the Consul of Mexico for Utah.
Huntsman also met with Geronimo Gutierrez Fernandez, Mexico's undersecretary for foreign relations. He oversees the Mexican consul offices across the United States.
Fernandez said he's interested in working with U.S. leaders on immigration reform. He said both countries can benefit from creating a system where security concerns are addressed, but people are allowed to work. He suggests a guest worker program for Mexicans to work in the United States legally and safely.
Fernandez said he also wants to make sure Mexicans - with or without U.S. residency papers - are treated well and protected by the same U.S. rights granted to other foreigners.
In 2004, there were about 104,000 protection cases filed by Mexicans with the Mexican government about concerns, such as workers' rights, that they were having in the United States, Fernandez said.
"We are very concerned and will be keeping a very close watch about the rights of the Mexican people," he said.
Fernandez said he's looking forward to working with Utah leaders on Huntsman's prosperity plan, especially because of the growing Mexican population in the state.
Overall, Huntsman said Fox and other leaders seemed interested and supportive of his plan. Huntsman repeatedly told them that he believes Mexico will become Utah's most important market in the next 20 years. He also said he plans to focus Utah-Mexico trade missions on biotechnology, health sciences and manufacturing, especially auto parts.
So until Fox visits Utah, Huntsman said he'll be making plans with business leaders as well as where he'll take the president to eat - Salt Lake City's $1 tacos stands near downtown.
"That would be our official banquet," Huntsman said smiling.