Mexico City, Dec 3 (EFE).- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he will seek an agreement with the United States and Canada to invest in Central America and thereby deal with the phenomenon of migration.
“We are presenting a proposal to promote development in Central America, with tripartite investment from Canada, the United States and Mexico, so that companies and governments from the three nations can initiate a plan to promote development from south to north,” he told a press conference on the first working day of his term.
The objective, he said, is for “migration to become optional,” for people to have the right to migrate and go to the United States if they wish but to ensure that migration is not related to lack of job opportunities.
Regarding the investment program among the three nations, the Mexican leader said he is expecting a response from the other two countries soon.
“I am proposing the signing of a commitment between the three countries for this investment plan” so that we can “resolve (the migration issue) with employment,” he added.
Lopez Obrador assumed the presidency on Saturday in a ceremony at Congress with hundreds of specially invited figures and a cultural celebration in Mexico City’s giant main square, the Zocalo.
On Monday, he expressed gratitude for the presence at the inauguration ceremony of Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to US President Donald Trump, and US Vice President Mike Pence. He also said he considered the “treatment received” from the US government since his landslide July 1 election victory to be positive.
“We have maintained a respectful relationship with President Donald Trump and we will continue this respectful relationship,” the Mexican leader said.
Following Saturday’s inauguration, Lopez Obrador and his counterparts from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras signed a Comprehensive Development Plan to address the migration phenomenon.