Mexican President Felipe Calderón met with US Vice-President Joseph Biden, currently on a working visit to Mexico City, at the official Los Pinos residence on March 5.

During the meeting, President Calderón and Vice-president Biden confirmed the commitment of the governments of both countries to consolidate shared responsibility, trust and mutual respect as the basis of cooperation in all spheres. They agreed on the importance of coordinated work with a long-term view for the well-being and security of the two societies. They highlighted the importance of the contributions made by migrants to their communities of origin and destination.

President Calderón hailed the solidity of the Mexican economy and the advancements achieved in social development. He highlighted the complementary nature of efforts by Mexico and the United States to create more and better jobs and to increase the competitiveness of their respective economies. He also indicated the priorities of the current Mexican Chairmanship of the Group of 20 (G-20) for contributing to effective ways to address the global economic problem.

The president also referred to the Mexican government’s actions for strengthening law enforcement institutions. He highlighted the key role of bilateral cooperation in complementing the efforts made by each country within its own jurisdiction to deal with the common challenge of transnational organized crime. He hailed the measures adopted by President Barack Obama and stressed the need to reinforce measures against arms trafficking into Mexico and money laundering.

For his part, Vice-President Biden repeated the US government’s commitment to reinforcing the strategic partnership with Mexico. In this respect, he highlighted the importance of the dynamic of frequent dialogue between top level government officials on all issues in the broad bilateral agenda promoted by President Calderón and President Obama.