US President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto met at the White House on Tuesday for Obama's first face-to-face gathering with a Latin American leader since announcing his plans last month to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.

US policy towards Cuba has been a source of friction with other Latin American countries in the past, and the change in policy should make it easier for the US to partner with other countries to encourage democratic reforms.

During the course of the meeting, Obama discussed with Peña Nieto ways to encourage positive change in Cuba by working together to pressure the Castro regime to undertake reform efforts and reinforce democratic principles.

Obama said the United States would insist that human rights in Cuba be discussed at a Summit of the Americas later this year.

Obama announced in December plans to reestablish a US embassy on the island, as well as ease some trade and travel restrictions currently in place. The president will be unable to fully repeal the embargo imposed during the 1960s without congressional action, but the efforts are expected to substantially ease access to the communist nation.

Peña Nieto's administration has looked to forge closer ties with Havana, and the Mexican leader traveled to Cuba last year to meet with both former leader Fidel Castro and his brother - and current president - Raúl Castro. The Mexican government also waived some 70 percent of a $487 million debt to its trade development bank as an overture to the Castro regime.

The White House says it hopes now the two governments can work together to push Cuba toward democratic reforms.

"We view it as very important to be able to work with Mexico, a country that has a long historical relationship with Cuba and is also a neighbor of Cuba, to be able to move this forward," a senior administration official said.

The two leaders also discussed Obama’s November executive action on amnesty for the millions of illegal Mexican immigrants who have been living in the US prior to 2010.

Pena Nieto praised the move as "very intelligent and audacious," and said his government will do everything in its power to ensure that Mexicans who want to stay in the United States can do so - including supplying the documents necessary for immigrants to prove they qualify for amnesty.

It is not clear what kind of documentation the Mexican government would provide to show proof of residency in the US prior to 2010.

Obama praised Mexico for cooperating in a campaign to warn residents in Mexico, as well as Central American nations, that his amnesty action will not apply to anyone coming to the US illegally in the future.

"We’re also going to be much more aggressive at the border in ensuring that people come through the system legally," Mr. Obama said. "And the Mexican government has been very helpful in how we can process and message that effectively, both inside of the United States and in Mexico."