President Obama Travels to Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit

President Barack Obama delivers remarks alongside President Enrique Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to North American business, civil society, and education leaders during the North American Leaders' Summit in Toluca, Mexico, Feb. 19, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Today, the President traveled to Toluca, Mexico for this year’s North American Leaders’ Summit, along with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Shortly after arriving in Toluca, President Obama held a bilateral meeting with President Peña Nieto. Before their meeting, President Obama gave some initial remarks on the summit:

[T]he North American Leaders’ Summit gives us an opportunity to build on the enormous progress that we’ve already made in making sure that North America is the most competitive region in the world and that we are able not only to continue to integrate our economies effectively to create jobs both in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but that we’re able to project American and Mexican and Canadian goods and services around the world toward the benefit of our people.

And the cooperation ranges from how do we make our borders more efficient to moving forward on the Trans-Pacific Partnership that offers the opportunity to open up new markets in the fastest, most populous region of the world, the Asia Pacific region.

We'll also have the opportunity to discuss how we can work together more closely on scientific and educational exchanges. We're particularly interested in making sure that young people in Mexico and the United States and Canada are able to study and travel in each country, and we're trying to expand those kinds of exchanges.

So this is a wonderful opportunity for us to build on the work that we’ve already done over the last year.

Following the bilateral meeting, Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto attended a working lunch with Prime Minister Harper. After lunch, President Obama had a “walk and talk” with Prime Minister Harper, before all three leaders delivered remarks to a group of North American business, civil society, and education leaders.

During the remarks, President Obama reiterated all three leaders' desire to strengthen the "already incredible" ties between the three nations:

If you think about North America, to have three borders this long in which we share a common set of values, a common set of principles, a commitment to democracy, a commitment to free markets, a commitment to trade where we are allies and interact peacefully, that is a precious gift. And it’s one that I think all three of us are committed to building and nurturing for future generations.

This evening, the three leaders participated in the Trilateral North American Leaders Summit meeting, and are holding a final joint press conference to conclude the day’s activities.

For more information, please see:

• Remarks by President Obama Before Bilateral Meeting
• Remarks by President Obama, President Peña Nieto, and Prime Minister Harper to North American Business, Civil Society and Education Leaders