Mexico City: Mexico and the US agreed to strengthen cooperation to tackle the issues that drive Central American migrants north, following a video call between Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and US Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to a statement from the Mexican President’s office, Lopez Obrador laid out for Harris his administration’s plan to curb immigration during the call on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Called “Sembrando Vida” or “Planting Life”, the plan essentially calls for fighting environmental degradation and poverty, two of the main causes of unregulated migration.
“We have many things in common and we agree with the policy that you are undertaking on immigration matters, and we are going to help,” Lopez Obrador told Harris.
In a statement, Harris said: “We agreed to work together to establish a strategic partnership to address root causes of migration, spur economic development, and expand security cooperation. I told the President I look forward to visiting Mexico on June 8.”
The two sides also discussed current restrictions on cross-border travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ways to promote bilateral trade with sanitary measures in place, and vaccination progress in the border region.
Likewise, they discussed promoting investment in southern Mexico to strengthen cooperation within the framework of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade, the statement added.
US President Joe Biden has entrusted Harris to head efforts to curb northward migration from Mexico and the countries of Central America’s Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
