On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden, Mexico President Andres Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met for talks geared towards mending diplomatic and economic ties between the three countries. The discussions concentrated on resolving the issues of migration, trade and climate change, three issues on which the countries have long been at odds.
The so-called ‘three amigos summit’ focused on the influx of migrants and smuggling operations, as well as Biden’s push for increased domestic manufacturing and the effect that could have on the US’s neighboring countries. Upon meeting López Obrador said that Biden could have the power to “do away with this abandonment, this disdain, and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean” should he choose to do so.
In response Biden noted the billions of dollars the US devotes to foreign aid all over the world, before the two leaders had a noticeably sharp exchange. Both Biden and López Obrador had been on less-than-friendly terms for the past two years and the Mexican leader had previously celebrated Trump’s ascension to office. This summit marked an attempt at thawing the two leaders’ relationship.
The US, Mexico, and Canada also reached an agreement in migration policy as announced by Biden last week. The agreement would see a minimum of 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela sent back from the US, in addition to 30,000 from the same countries receiving sponsors, background checks and airline flights to the US. Upon these conditions, López Obrador said he would “consider accepting more migrants than previously announced”.
In addition to these three way talks, Biden held a bilateral meeting with Trudeau and hopes to visit Canada in the near future. Tuesday’s summit concluded with talks that could finally break the long-standing diplomatic and economic divides between the US, Mexico, and Canada.
