Biden, Mexico president discuss fentanyl, migrant crisis, on final day of Apec summit
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US President Joe Biden (right) and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met on the final day of a Pacific Rim summit where Washington and Beijing competed for allies.
PHOTO: AFP
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SAN FRANCISCO - US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met in San Francisco on Friday to discuss the fentanyl and migration crisis, on the final day of a Pacific Rim summit where Washington and Beijing are competing for allies.
“I know it’s not easy” to deal with migration along the US-Mexican border, Mr Biden told Mr Lopez Obrador, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in the Californian city.
The Mexican leader pledged to tackle trafficking and production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl as an “act of solidarity, telling Mr Biden he was “fully aware of the damage it poses to the United States’ youth”.
Mr Biden told Mr Lopez Obrador that “I couldn’t have a better partner than you”, while the Mexican leader called the US president “a man with convictions, a good man.”
The issues of migration and fentanyl, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths in the US, both promise to weigh heavily in next year’s US election, in which Mr Biden is seeking a second term.
The Mexican leader is, meanwhile, making a rare international trip during which he has met both Mr Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, playing off the two superpowers against each other.
Chinese state media said Mr Xi had called for Mexico and China to expand cooperation on sectors including electric vehicles, a key focus for Mr Biden.
Mr Xi and Mr Biden have both been wooing regional allies, despite holding their own summit they pledged to reduce tensions.
China promised to cut down on the production of fentanyl ingredients in China
Washington has alleged that the precursor chemicals are also made by Mexican drug cartels, but Mr Lopez Obrador’s administration has previously said the ingredients come from Asia.
The Mexican president addressed the issue when he met Mr Xi on Thursday, in his first face-to-face talks with the Chinese leader.
Mr Lopez Obrador “emphasised the importance of reaching an agreement to exchange information on shipments leaving Asia,” his foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
Migration crisis
The last time Mr Biden and Mr Lopez Obrador met was in January, at a North American leaders’ summit in Mexico.
Another thorny issue between Mr Biden and Mr Lopez Obrador will be the migration crisis along the countries’ shared 3,000km border.
Illegal immigration has become a major political headache for Democrat Mr Biden,
The United States has documented record numbers of border crossings thanks partly to a high number of Venezuelans fleeing the political and economic crisis under President Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Biden has been taking a tougher stance, requesting US$14 billion (S$18 billion) in border funds from Congress in October as part of a huge national security package
His administration has also announced plans to extend the border wall
The two leaders will also discuss “growing our incredibly vibrant economic cooperation with Mexico, and building on broad cooperation on a whole host of issues,” said Mr Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America.
The United States is Mexico’s main trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching a record US$860 billion last year.
The Mexican leader had announced in September that he would skip the Apec summit because of a diplomatic rift with Peru, which is due to receive the grouping’s rotating presidency.
Mr Lopez Obrador then changed his mind because he was interested in maintaining “a very good relationship with the US government.”
Mr Biden will later speak at the closing ceremony of the summit, before handing over the chairmanship to Peru. AFP
