U.S. President Joe Biden visited Mexico City on January 9th and 10th, 2023, for the tenth North American Leaders Summit (NALS). He also held bilateral meetings with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts.
One of the key items that the leaders addressed is migration. Better cooperation between the United States and Mexico is vital to handle the massive number of immigrants arriving at the U.S.A border in the days to come. U.S. officials are glad about the cooperation Mexico is providing. However, increased additional partnership from nations across the region is crucial to minimize the number of migrants getting to the Western Hemisphere.
That kind of collaboration includes creating additional legal migration pathways as a substitute for irregular migration, dealing with the main causes of migration, and offering increased humanitarian care for migrants. Last June, during the Summit of America, twenty-one governments agreed in principle to the approach, but more action is required.
Apart from migration, the bilateral and trilateral meetings also addressed other matters. Among them is smuggling deadly opioids such as fentanyl across the US-Mexico border. The United States and Mexico have also agreed to fight cross-border crime. Many people in the U.S.A. are passing away from taking overdoses of drugs smuggled from Mexico. Many Mexicans are suffering from the violence linked with drug smuggling. Better results are required from the U.S.A – Mexico’s cooperation against the criminal groups in the two nations. More effective steps are required to minimize chemical precursors from China and criminals in Mexico used to produce lethal contraband drugs.
The broader NALS agenda concentrates on strengthening vital long-term cooperation to ensure North America is more competitive economically and positioned better to deal with global challenges. The agenda is technical and demands engagement for several years. The work is vital to strengthen Mexico, the U.S.A, and Canada as they compete with China and other economic powerhouses and to better confront challenges like potential pandemics and climate change.
The North American Leaders Summit allows the United States to bolster its close relationship with Mexico and advance its shared priorities for North America. The priorities include sustainability, economic stability, security, inclusiveness, and prosperity. Building on their accomplishments last year, the leaders pledged to act on new initiatives across many different topics that are crucial to the continent.
