November 19, 2007

Mexican President Receives President-elect of Guatemala

Presidency of the Republic

Mexican President Felipe Calderón received Mr. Álvaro Colom Caballeros, President-elect of Guatemala, who will take office on January 14, 2008 for a period of four years, at his official residence today.

President Calderón congratulated Mr. Colom on his triumph in the presidential elections, and on the development of a democratic electoral process in Guatemala, and thanked him for having chosen Mexico as the first country to visit after his election.

During the meeting, the Mexican president noted that relations between the two countries are excellent and that the two nations have shared interests and priorities that should be included on the agenda of the main coordination mechanisms, particularly in the areas of trade, migration and security on the common border, with full respect for migrants' rights.

Within this context, the Mexican president declared that the Mexican government has followed with interest the progress of the Puebla-Panama Plan, in which Guatemala has played an active role and that its reorganization will be completed at the next meeting of the Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialog and Agreement, to be held in Mexico in 2008.

Mr. Colom expressed his wish to strengthen bilateral relations and mentioned the need to implement joint actions to regulate the flow of persons and merchandise across the border between the two countries.

The President-elect expressed interest in finding out more about Mexico's experience in creating a Federal Investigations Agency, since one of his aims for his government is to reinforce the Guatemalan system of justice within the framework of the regional fight against organized crime.

Mr. Álvaro Colom invited President Felipe Calderón to visit Guatemala as soon as his agenda permits.

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(Press Release: Presidency of the Republic, November 16, 2007, Mexico City)

Translation Presidency of the Republic