Mexico says progress needed before president meets Trump
MEXICO CITY: White House advisor Jared Kushner left Mexico City on Wednesday with prospects no nearer for a summit between his father-inlaw President Donald Trump and Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto, as both sides said progress on joint policy concerns was needed first.
Kushner met with Pena Nieto and other top Mexican officials in a bid to soothe recent tensions after it emerged that a phone call between the two presidents had gone badly due to Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for a border wall he wants to build to stop illegal immigrants.
During the past week, Trump delivered several barbs against Mexico, whose leaders were dismayed by the US president’s decision to announce protectionist tariffs during complex talks to rework the Nafta trade pact.
After Kushner left, Mexico’s foreign ministry said officials from both nations agreed that any possible meeting between Trump and Pena Nieto would depend on progress made on areas of mutual concern such as revamping Nafta, security and migration.
The ministry issued a short statement saying that Kushner, who came with other US officials, had discussed issues such as the fight against drug trafficking, border security, migration, jobs and Central America with his Mexican counterparts.
It made no mention of the border wall or how progress might be measured.
Pena Nieto was accompanied by Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, who earlier held a separate meeting with Kushner at his ministry. — Reuters