US President Joe Biden hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the White House for their first North American Leaders’ Summit since 2016.
Ahead of the three-person summit held on Thursday, which was shunned by former US President Donald Trump, Biden separately met Trudeau and Obrador, Xinhua news agency reported.
During the summit, the three leaders “reiterated our strong ties and integration, and willingness to chart a new path for our partnership at a time when we face incredibly complex global challenges,” said the White House in a press release.
The leaders pledged to take concrete actions in support of their joint goals, including ending the Covid-19 pandemic and advancing global health, fostering competitiveness and creating the conditions for equitable growth, as well as coordinating a regional response to migration, it said.
Dialogue to align approaches on China
Biden and Trudeau have also agreed to launch a dialogue on the Indo-Pacific to promote regional security and to align their approaches on China.
In a statement, the White House said Biden met with Trudeau on Thursday to review the implementation of the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership launched in February 2021 to revitalize their strategic partnership.
“Their wide-ranging discussion included joint efforts to combat COVID-19; build back better; accelerate climate action; advance diversity and inclusion; bolster security and defense, and build global alliances,” the statement read.
“They also agreed to work jointly to address the unprecedented migration challenges facing the Western Hemisphere in 2021, and underscored the importance of continued robust cooperation under the U.S.-Canada Action Plan on Opioids as the United States surpasses 100,000 drug overdose deaths,” it added.
The President and Prime Minister discussed the extensive cooperation on security and committed to strengthening cooperation between the Five Eyes countries.
“They committed to establishing a Strategic Dialogue on the Indo-Pacific to promote regional security, the rule of law, good governance; to align our approaches on China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK); as well as affirming their strategic dialogue on Arctic cooperation,” the statement read.
“Both leaders also committed to continuing close collaboration on Haiti, including strengthening the Haitian National Police’s capacity and supporting inclusive political dialogue. They also pledged safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans, resettlement and humanitarian assistance, and counter-terrorism cooperation,” the statement added. (IANS/ANI)