Mexico strengthened ties with the US this year, despite public differences on immigration and trade. This is according to a statement from the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry, released on Monday.
Five principles and ten goals were formulated by President, Enrique Pena Nieto at the start of 2017, serving as guidelines for his nation’s relationship with the new Trump administration. These included getting Washington to commit to respecting Mexican citizen’s legal rights and ensuring the continuing free stream of remittances from the US that are key to the Mexican economy. The principles ranged from comprehensive negotiations on issues such as security, drug trafficking, and immigration, together with North American integration involving the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Political dialogue between Mexico and the highest levels of US authorities were strengthened during the year, the Ministry says. Foreign Minister, Luis Videgaray, visited the US on more than 20 occasions in 2017, to meet with officials from the White House and elsewhere. Relations seemed strained between Mexico and the US before Donald Trump assumed the Presidency in January, following his election campaign pledge to build a wall between the two nations to limit illegal immigration.
A variety of different prototypes for the much-hyped wall have apparently been constructed, and are now in the testing process. Bilateral ties were also strained by Trump’s vow to bring job and industries back to the US. But, the Ministry says cooperation has nonetheless deepened in several areas, primarily in border security as well as development.