in march 1996, grand duke jean of luxembourg paid an official visit to mexico. while in mexico, grand duke jean met with mexican president ernesto zedillo and both leaders signed an agreement on air services and both nations agreed for the establishment of a consultation mechanism for mutual interests. in december 1997, mexico and the european union signed an economic partnership, political coordination and cooperation agreement. during the negotiations, luxembourg, as an eu member state, played a neutral role and did not put obstacles. however, the ratification of the agreement was stopped by the luxembourgish government during 1998 and most of 1999 due to a tax dispute. the situation was resolved with the signing of an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation in january 2000 by both nations.