Joe Biden, Lopez Obrador, Justin Trudeau Meet In Mexico City For Summit

MEXICO CITY, Jan 10 (AP): President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are meeting for a series of talks on migration, trade and climate change on Tuesday as the three leaders try to mend tensions that have divided the continent.

The three-way gathering is held most years, although there was a hiatus while Donald Trump was US president. It’s often called the “three amigos summit,” a reference to the deep diplomatic and economic ties between the countries.

However, the leaders still found themselves at odds, especially as they struggle to handle an influx of migrants and to crack down on smugglers who profit from persuading people to make the dangerous trip to the United States.

In addition, Canada and the US accuse Lopez Obrador of violating a free trade pact by favouring Mexico’s state-owed utility over power plants built by foreign and private investors. Meanwhile, Trudeau and Lopez Obrador are concerned about Biden’s efforts to boost domestic manufacturing, creating concerns that US neighbours could be left behind.

The centrepiece of the summit will be hours of talks with all three leaders, but Biden will start Tuesday with a bilateral meeting with Trudeau. It’s unlikely to be as contentious as his sitdown with Lopez Obrador on Monday.

During that meeting, the Mexican leader challenged Biden to improve life across the region, telling him that “you hold the key in your hand.”

“This is the moment for us to determine to do away with this abandonment, this disdain, and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean,” Lopez Obrador said.

Biden responded by pointing to the billions of dollars that the United States spends in foreign aid around the world, saying that “unfortunately our responsibility just doesn’t end in the Western Hemisphere.”

It was a noticeably sharp exchange after the two leaders had smiled and embraced and shaken hands for the cameras.

Biden and Lopez Obrador haven’t been on particularly good terms for the past two years. The Mexican leader made no secret of his admiration for Trump, and last year he skipped a Los Angeles summit of the Americas because Biden didn’t invite the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

However, there have been attempts to thaw the relationship. Biden made a point of flying into the new Felipe Angeles International Airport, a prized project of the Mexican president even though it’s been a source of controversy.

The airport, which is expected to cost USD 4.1 billion when finished, is more than an hour’s drive north of the city centre, has few flights and until recently lacked consistent drinking water. However, it’s one of the keystone projects that Lopez Obrador is racing to finish before his term ends next year.

The US and Mexico have also reached an agreement on a major shift in migration policy, which Biden announced last week.

Under the plan, the US will send 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela back across the border from among those who entered the US illegally. Migrants who arrive from those four countries are not easily returned to their home countries for a variety of reasons.

In addition, 30,000 people per month from those four nations who get sponsors, background checks and an airline flight to the US will get the ability to work legally in the country for two years.