Outgoing Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has stunned the country by bestowing the nation’s highest honour for foreigners on Jared Kushner, senior White House advisor and son-in-law of Donald Trump.

Peña Nieto praised Kushner as “a grand ally of Mexico” who helped achieve a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico.

The revised agreement – now known as Usmca – is expected to be signed in Buenos Aires during the G20 summit. Peña Nieto will decorate Kushner with the Order of the Aztec Eagle in the Argentinian capital this week.

Peña Nieto was quoted by Mexican media as saying: “He has been an important actor in this objective of having a good understanding of the new government that entered two years ago.”