The United States, Canada and Mexico worked together to advance a safer and more prosperous future for people in areas including equity and inclusion, irregular migration and regional security at the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico City January 9–10.
“We’ve renewed our dependence and deepened our cooperation [with] the closest friends and allies — none closer than Mexico and Canada — to take on the biggest challenges facing the region and, quite frankly, the world,” President Biden said in a joint press conference with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
At the summit, Biden, López Obrador and Trudeau continued discussions from the June 2022 Summit of the Americas on the climate crisis, economic growth and prosperity, COVID-19 responses, crime and irregular migration. They also signed a Declaration of North America to solidify their commitment to resolving these issues.
Historic action on vital issues
To address the climate crisis, the three leaders agreed to advance clean energy and the green economy to curb emissions and create jobs. They committed to the following:
• Coordinate the installation of more electric vehicle charging stations along international borders.
• Reduce methane emissions, with a new focus on the waste sector.
• Conserve 30% of the world’s land and ocean area by 2030 while advancing Indigenous-led conservation.
To spur economic growth and prosperity, the three leaders discussed boosting semiconductor production to create more jobs and organizing the first trilateral semiconductor forum to increase investment in semiconductor supply chains across North America. The forum will take place later this year.
The three countries will also revise the North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza to strengthen the region’s ability to respond to health security threats, including influenza, future COVID-19 variants and other diseases.
To combat crime — specifically drug and arms trafficking — the three countries will coordinate actions and strategies, such as continuing the North American Drug Dialogue to address the illegal drug trade. At the same time, the leaders supported expanding legal pathways and other humane measures to manage migration in the region.
Advancing racial equity across the Hemisphere
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, and Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly also signed the North American Partnership for Equity and Racial Justice declaration on January 9.
The declaration will establish a Trilateral Racial Equity and Inclusion Expert Network to exchange best practices and innovative strategies to advance equity and racial justice in public policies across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
It will also integrate Indigenous women leaders from all three countries to discuss and develop public policy recommendations.
“I’m optimistic about the future and the near term,” Biden said before his meeting with Trudeau on January 10. “And it’s going to be hard, but there’s a lot we can do together.”
Source: Share America