US President Joe Biden on Monday sought tougher action on illegal migration and drugs dealings in talks with his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, reports AFP.
Biden is visiting Mexico for the first time as president to meet Obrador and also hold three-way talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the meeting which is said as "Three Amigos" summit.
Biden said that one of his priorities was discussing "the plague of fentanyl, which has killed 100,000 Americans so far," referring to the often-deadly opioid smuggled across the border by Mexican drug cartels.
Another vital issue was "how we can tackle irregular migration, which I think we're well on our way to doing," he said at the start of the talks, calling Mexico a "true partner."
While Lopez Obrador gave Biden a warm welcome on his arrival at the presidential palace, his tone hardened at the formal talks, where the Mexican leader appealed for a change in US attitudes toward the region.
"It is time to end this oblivion, this abandonment, this disdain for Latin America and the Caribbean," Lopez Obrador said.
Biden defended Washington's record, saying it had spent "tens of billions of dollars" in the past 15 years alone that had benefited the region.
"The United States provides more foreign aid than every other country just about combined," he said.
"Unfortunately, our responsibility just doesn't end in the Western Hemisphere," Biden added.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
