The Mexican president will visit Aberdeen next week to sign an energy collaboration agreement, it was confirmed yesterday.
Enrique Pena Nieto will formally announce the new “memoranda of understanding” at a meeting with North Sea leaders in the Town House on Thursday.
His trip to the north-east will be hosted by Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael and Energy Minister Matt Hancock.
In the afternoon, he will visit Robert Gordon University to meet academics and view a presentation on the energy sector, before viewing a demonstration of the Drilling and Advanced Rig Training Simulator.
Mexico is the ninth largest producer of oil in the world.
The president and his wife are due in the UK for a four-day state visit, during which he will also sign agreements on education collaboration and tourism cooperation.
Arriving on Monday, Mr Nieto will be formally welcomed by the Queen on Tuesday and have a private lunch and later a banquet hosted by Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace, as well as delivering an address to MPs at Westminster.
The head of state will meet Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday, while also holding talks with Labour leader Ed Miliband and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
On Thursday, the president will travel to Aberdeen for the final stage of the visit.
Mr Nieto announced a package of proposed reforms in 2013 that were designed to enable private investors to participate in the country’s oil sector.
The market had previously been controlled by the state-run entity, Pemex, for 75 years.
Felipe Calderon, the previous Mexican president, visited Aberdeen in 2009.
Accompanied by the Duke of York, he visited BP’s North Sea headquarters at Dyce, went to the Town House for a special oil and gas exhibition, and a lunch hosted by former Aberdeen Lord Provost Peter Stephen.
Next week will mark the fourth state visit to the UK by a Mexican president, following 1973, 1985 and 2009.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have paid two state visits to Mexico, in 1975 and 1983.
Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay, and the Duchess of Cornwall, travelled to Mexico last October.