President-elect to restore ties with neighbours
US President-elect Barack Obama was to discuss the drug war and trade issues with Mexican President Felipe Calderon yesterday, in his first meeting with a foreign leader since his November election.
Washington: US President-elect Barack Obama was to discuss the drug war and trade issues with Mexican President Felipe Calderon yesterday, in his first meeting with a foreign leader since his November election.
Obama has promised to nurture close ties with Mexico and with Latin American countries that complained of neglect by the United States after President George W. Bush's foreign policy focused heavily on Iraq and the war on terror.
With Mexico's drug violence exploding and amid fears Obama might seek changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Calderon had been eager for a meeting with the incoming US president. Obama aides said the Calderon meeting was part of a long tradition of US presidents meeting with the Mexican leader before their inauguration.
Calderon is expected to meet Bush on Tuesday.
Beyond following tradition, a senior Obama adviser also said Obama "feels very strongly about the US-Mexico relationship. This is obviously a priority."
Obama, who takes over from Bush on January 20, in a speech last May accused the Bush administration of being "negligent" toward its friends in the Americas and pledged to renew ties with neighbours like Mexico.
Obama aides confirmed last week that he plans to make Canada the destination of his first foreign trip as president, but they have not said when the trip would take place.
