WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. officials held talks with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico on Tuesday to discuss immigration and other issues ahead of a planned economic summit next month, the White House said on Wednesday.
The talks, which followed a Monday phone call between López Obrador and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, laid the groundwork for an economic dialogue scheduled for Sept. 9 in Washington, it said in a statement.
The U.S. delegation included National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who met with López Obrador and other top Mexican officials, the White House said.
Harris is leading the Biden administration’s efforts to grapple with migration and other immigration issues.
“Officials underscored the importance of fostering development in southern Mexico and Central America to address the root causes of irregular migration … and committed to jointly managing safe, orderly migration that respects human rights,” the White House said of Tuesday’s meeting.
In addition to next month’s high-level economic talks, the officials also discussed efforts to hold a high-level security dialogue as well as COVID-19, supply chain issues and other topics.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann)
