MEXICO CITY, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Wednesday that Mexico, Canada and the U.S. all need each other within the North American Free Trade Partnership (NAFTA).

"We need each other, we are part of links and value chains which are integrated and consolidated. This cannot be ignored," said the head of state.

While inaugurating a new automotive parts plant by Mexican group Nemak in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, Peña Nieto said that he would discuss the renegotiation of NAFTA with the United States.

The renegotiation will happen at "the right time, since it has been frozen due to the new foreign policy of our neighboring country," he said.

Speaking from the plant in Garcia, Nuevo Leon, the president said he would defend Mexico and the Mexican people against the positions of any other government, as "we are a nation that behaves well, we rely on a strong diplomacy, we rely on respect for others, but we demand the same respect for ourselves."

Finally, Nieto reiterated that Mexico demands "respect as a sovereign nation...and with this point, we will sit down at the table as equals to revisit the terms of our relationship with the United States."