Nearly a year after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. extended a formal invitation to Mexican President Vicente Fox to visit Utah, the presidential visit is nearly a done deal.

And those who worked to bring Fox to Utah were optimistic Friday that the visit, tentatively planned later this month, would strengthen trade, educational and cultural ties that Huntsman promoted during meetings with Fox in Mexico City last July.

"The biggest benefit will be to put Utah into the international community and open the doors for a lot of Utah companies as well," said Joe Reyna, chairman of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"Vicente Fox will be the first to come, but I think it will open the door for other heads of state," said Reyna, who was part of the governor's delegation to Mexico City.

The visit, which would be the first by a Mexican president to Utah, still needs approval of the Mexican Senate, but Reyna said it is "95 percent" sealed.

In 2002, the Mexican Senate barred Fox from visiting the United States, but Reyna said he hasn't seen anything to indicate that will happen now.

Salt Lake City Mexican Consul Salvador Jimenez has made a visit by President Vicente Fox a top priority of his administration since he arrived in January 2005.

"We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Jimenez said. "There is real potential of having this visit."

"This is the biggest news that we can give here in our state," Jimenez said.

Jimenez declined to discuss details until the visit is finalized but was hopeful approval would come next week.

Huntsman's spokesman Mike Mower has also said the visit, part of a planned tour that also would include Washington and California, is anticipated, though it hasn't been formally announced.

The governor is expected to call a special session so Fox can address the state Legislature. And, a courtesy visit is tentatively planned with the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said church spokesman Dale Bills.

Fox is also scheduled to meet with members of the Mexican community and with business leaders, Reyna said.

Reyna hopes to boost trade with Mexico. He pointed to Utah's annual exports to Mexico, which totaled $122 million in 2004, according to a recent report by the University of Utah.

"It's a big opportunity for trade," Reyna said. "I would like to see trade numbers of $300 to $400 million."

Another topic of discussion will likely be immigration reform, an increasingly volatile issue that could come up in the U.S. Senate later this month. Thousands of mostly Latino protestors have taken to the street in past weeks in protest of a bill the U.S. House passed last year, which would make it a felony to be in the country illegally and crack down on those who employ undocumented aliens.