After high-level talks in Washington D.C., U.S high-rank officials agreed to collaborate with Mexico on employment programs in the southern region of the country and in Central America, announced the federal government.
In a statement outlining the four central pillars of a relaunched U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said the United States will provide technical support to attend to structural causes of migration in northern Central America.
It said the United States will collaborate with Mexico and Central America on the Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life) tree-planting employment program and the Youths Building the Future apprenticeship scheme.
President López Obrador has lobbied the U.S. government to support an expansion of the government programs to the nations of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Cooperation on the programs falls under “Promoting Sustainable Economic and Social Development in Southern Mexico and Central America,” or Pillar II of the HLED, which was reactivated on Thursday after the forum’s suspension by former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier led a Mexican delegation to meet with a U.S. contingent headed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The White House said in a statement that the HLED will allow the United States and Mexico to rebuild and grow as dynamic partners as the two countries face new challenges.
With regard to Pillar II, the White House said the United States and Mexico “will identify complementary and cooperative opportunities to improve livelihoods through the creation of jobs and opportunities in the short, medium, and long term in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and southern Mexico, increasing its trade potential and spurring investment.”
Mexican Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard described the bilateral talks as “a success,” asserting there was good will on both sides of the table. The two countries share a common vision, he declared.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the HLED “drives improved job creation, global competitiveness, and reductions in poverty and inequalities, and that is to the benefit of U.S. citizens and Mexican citizens alike.”
Antonio Garza, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said the resumption of the high-level dialogue was “a significant step in broadening the bilateral agenda.”
Source: El Financiero
