Mexico head makes UK state visit

President Calderon speaks about Mexico's drugs war to the BBC's John Simpson

President Felipe Calderon is making the first state visit to the UK by a Mexican leader for almost 25 years.

Since taking office in 2006, Mr Caldron has taken on Mexico's drugs gangs, who are blamed for some 8,000 deaths.

But the president is keen to stress that there is more to Mexico than drugs violence, Mexican officials say.

Mr Calderon, who is to attend the G20 summit later this week, also wants to say that the world's 12th biggest economy is a safe place to invest.

President Calderon might find a few days at Buckingham Palace as guest of the Queen a welcome change of scene, says the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City.

Elected president in 2006, Mr Calderon launched a crackdown on the country's drugs cartels, deploying more than 40,000 troops. Since then battling the traffickers has occupied much of his time.

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The Mexican President and his wife arrive at Buckingham Palace

Free trade urged

During his trip, Mr Calderon will meet UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and address members of both Houses of Parliament.

He will also visit Scotland to meet representatives of the oil industry there.

Reform and modernisation of Mexico's massive state-run oil company, Pemex, has been a priority of his centre-right government.

Climate change will also be a theme - Mexico has said it wants to be the developing world's model for sustainability, and has vowed to halve its carbon emissions by 2050.

Mr Calderon's state visit immediately precedes the G20 gathering of world leaders in London.

With the Mexican economy highly dependent on exports, particularly to the US, Mr Calderon will be leading calls against protectionism.

In a BBC interview immediately before the visit he stressed his belief that free trade was the best way out of the current economic crisis.

There have been two previous state visits by Mexican presidents during the Queen's reign - Luis Echeverria in 1973 and Miguel de la Madrid in 1985.