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06:27 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 14 (KUNA) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen traveled to Mexico on Friday to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto and other top Mexican officials to discuss a range of shared priorities including border security, drug smuggling, and economic growth.
During remarks made alongside Nieto, Pompeo said the leaders discussed "modernizing" NAFTA and agreed that "we want North America to remain the world's most competitive and economically potent region."
On the border, he said the US is "committed to making measurable progress that ensures the security on both sides of that border" and that "Americans must be able to see improvements that better protect our national sovereignty."
Nielsen "proposed specific ways to continue and deepen cooperation on confronting illegal migration and on building regional asylum capacity," said a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
"She also emphasized the need for governments, international organizations, and the private sector to develop a comprehensive regional approach to stemming Central American migrant flows, countering human smuggling, and fighting back against trafficking," it added.
Mnuchin's discussion focused on engagement with Mexico on issues such as "combatting illicit finance and a shared commitment to achieving strong and broad-based economic growth, trade, and security," the Treasury revealed.
He, "conveyed that Mexico is a critical economic partner for the United States, and that he looks forward to deepening Treasury's comprehensive working relationships with his current and prospective counterparts."
In his speech, Pompeo concluded, "Our meetings today reaffirmed that Mexico and the United States are neighbors, partners, and friends." (end)
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