US, Mexico discuss economy, drug gangs and migration as ‘3 amigos’ meet for summit
- Joe Biden is visiting Mexico for the first time as president to meet President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
- US, Mexican and Canadian leaders are gathering for what’s colloquially known as the ‘three amigos summit’
US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart discussed stronger economic ties, fighting the illegal drug trade, and approaches to curbing illegal migration at a meeting in Mexico City on Monday, the White House said in a statement.
Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also discussed incentives to promote investment in semiconductor manufacturing along the border in the bilateral meeting, the White House said.
“There are unmatched conditions to start a new policy of economic and social integration in our continent,” Lopez Obrador said at the start of the meeting, urging Biden to invest in the region.
Lopez Obrador is hosting Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from Monday to Wednesday for the first summit between the three since late 2021. It’s often called the “three amigos summit”, a reference to the deep diplomatic and economic ties between the countries, but new strains have emerged.
The talk of closer partnership comes even as disagreements persist over Lopez Obrador’s nationalist energy policies, which led to the launch of a formal trade complaint in July by Washington and Ottawa.
