The United States (USA) has allocated billions of dollars to the hemisphere, Biden said and clarified that its responsibility, unfortunately, does not end in the region, because it acts in the center of Europe, rather than in the Middle East, Africa or Southeast Asia.
Text: voice of america
The leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada will begin a North American summit in Mexico City on Tuesday, which the White House says will focus on economic and security cooperation in the region.
Talks between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US and Mexican Presidents Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador will be followed by a session in which US and Canadian officials will discuss the fight against climate change and support for Ukraine.
On Monday, migration, climate change, trade and manufacturing issues dominated a dialogue between the United States and Mexico in which López Obrador pressed the urgency of greater continental integration. He said that only Biden, whom he called a visionary and humanistic ruler, “holds the key” to improving life across the region.
“This is the moment to put an end to this forgetfulness, this abandonment, this disdain for Latin America and the Caribbean,” he added.
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Biden, who listened attentively, pointed out that in recent years the United States has allocated billions of dollars to the hemisphere and clarified that its responsibility, unfortunately, does not end in the region, because it acts in the center of Europe, rather than in the East Middle, in Africa or Southeast Asia.
“But what we must do is what you have done, and I commend you for doing it: we must continue to support and build democratic institutions in the hemisphere,” Biden said.
He added that “the United States provides more foreign assistance than any other country, all combined, throughout the world, not just in the hemisphere, but to the entire world.”
The White House noted that those conversations are nuanced and complex.
“These are sensitive talks that work better behind closed doors, but the (Mexican) president expressed part of his economic agenda here,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Mexico City.
In his three-minute, 22-second speech, Biden focused on the common agenda items.
“This includes strengthening our supply chains so that we are even more competitive. We are also going to talk about our shared security, including our joint action to address the fentanyl plague, which has killed 100,000 Americans so far, and how we can address irregular migration.”
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Sullivan said there is also a personal element to this summit, which has been called the “3 Amigos” summit.
“This trip is a good opportunity for President Biden to deepen his ties with López Obrador and Prime Minister Trudeau. Yesterday (Sunday) he had the opportunity to travel with President López Obrador from the airport to the city, which gave them a chance to talk to each other” about current affairs, Sullivan told reporters.
Sullivan declined to give details of the conversation, but the trip from Felipe Ángeles International Airport to the heart of the Mexican capital lasted almost an hour.
[Con informe de Anita Hill, VOA, y Sara Pablo, Voz de América]
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