Kerry speaks on US Mexico shared concerns
THE NEWS
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that he will be making an official visit to Mexico on May 21.
The secretary’s office gave no information on who he´s be meeting with, but Kerry said he plans to discuss the economic challenges that all of North America faces, among other issues.
“I’m pleased to be able to share with you this – my plan to be... in Mexico City later in the month”, said Kerry during the 44th Conference of the Americas in Washington. He added yesterday in a press release that he plans on discussing “expanding trade and economic growth, increasing higher education collaboration, and...continuing security cooperation” between the two countries.
Calling Mexico “a very valued partner” of the United States, he said that while in Mexico he will continue the economic dialogue that U.S. President Barack Obama began last February during a summit of leaders of North America.
Kerry emphasized that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, remains “the greatest single step toward shared prosperity in this hemisphere” and that it continues to grow each year.
Emphasizing the importance of the collaboration among the United States, Mexico and Canada in recent years, Kerry said that the ties between the countries are constantly getting stronger.
He praised the approval of Mexican legislation dealing with climate change that includes “ambitious” objectives to decrease the impact of methane gases on the environment.
“The solution to climate change is energy policy,” said Kerry during the conference. “And we have to do a better job, all of us, in investing in new clean energy technologies and connecting energy markets from Chile to Canada.”
Kerry said that the future of energy policies for the Western Hemisphere lies in the relationship among Canada, the United States and Mexico as well as Latin American countries included in the “Connecting the Americas 2022” initiative.
He said that the initiative encourages the private sector to invest in renewable energy so that they can offer cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy to citizens in the Americas.
Kerry said that the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean have grown “at a rate of 4 percent a year.” Additionally, “free trade between the Americas and the U.S. has nearly tripled.”
He went on to say that the collaboration of the United States and Latin America will allow “the Western Hemisphere to become literally the most stable and prosperous region in the world.”
The 44th Annual Conference of the Americas took place on Wednesday and was organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Council of the Americas.
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