MEXICO CITY, Sept. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Mexico and Chile will start bilateral talks aimed at reaching an agreement on strategic partnership, Mexican President Vicente Fox and his visiting Chilean counterpart Ricardo Lagos said here Wednesday in a joint statement. 

    An agreement on strategic partnership will further promote extensive and all-round cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.

    Signing the pact will systematize the political agreements, economic ties, cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, the statement added.

    Mexico and Chile have not set the date for signing the agreement so far. However, Chilean official media said that the agreement could be signed in November when Fox visits Chile to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) or in 2005.

    Also in their talks on Wednesday, the two presidents proposed to set up an annual governmental fund to push on bilateral cooperation programs. Enditem