January 21, 2008

Presidents of Mexico & Guatemala Reach Bilateral Accords

 

Presidency of the Republic

Guatemala City – In order to strengthen the bilateral relationship as a whole and reaffirm the excellent friendship and cooperation links between the two nations, through an effective, constructive political dialog between the two governments, Presidents Felipe Calderón and Álvaro Colom agreed to give priority to collaborative actions in the following strategic areas for the two countries:

 

Reinforcement of the bilateral relationship. Since this is the core of the bilateral relationship, within which working commissions and groups meet, during the first half of this year the two leaders will hold the 10th Meeting of the Mexico-Guatemala Binational Commission, and they have instructed their respective chancelleries to set a date for this event, in Guatemala, as soon as possible. Prior to the Binational Meeting, the Chancelleries will meet to review, update and follow-up the commitments assumed by both countries at previous meetings.

 

Integral border development. Realizing the opportunities for development provided by the two countries’ geographical proximity and the challenges derived from the problems facing the communities in this area, they agreed to encourage integral border development. In this respect, they agreed to promote the development of border infrastructure, particularly at formal crossing points between the two countries, and particularly the completion of the construction of the El Ceibo-Lagunitas highway and the establishment of corresponding check-points, a strategic project within the regional program for border modernization within the Puebla-Panama Plan that will mainly benefit the communities in Petén and Tabasco as well as the development of trade and tourism. They also stressed their interest in developing a program of reforestation and development of sustainable forest basins.

 

The two presidents instructed the corresponding authorities in their countries to conduct a joint study to determine the needs and requirements of the main formal border crossing points, so that they will be able to operate 24 hours-a-day year round. This study will have to be completed before the upcoming Binational Commission Meeting in order to establish the crossing points that will provide service in keeping with this timetable.

 

They also agreed to explore the possibility of implementing a mechanism to jointly certify the services provided at formal crossing points in order to guarantee greater efficiency in customs procedures. To this end, they agreed to instruct customs officers in both countries to reconcile procedures and make them compatible with their customs information systems in order to encourage the facilitation and safety of trade using the exchange of electronic information as a tool.

 

They also pledged to establish a government presence at formal crossing points where this does not as of yet exist. The aim is for the new installations to be constructed in a coordinated fashion to facilitate migration and trade.

 

At the same time, they hailed the negotiations currently being undertaken by their Chancelleries to sign an agreement that will regulate the Transborder Water Pipes for Domestic Use and Human Consumption in the border zone between the two countries, and instructed them to complete them within the established time frame.

 

They also agreed on the need to advance in the negotiation of an international instrument that will regulate the use, exploitation, conservation and distribution of water between Guatemala and Mexico.

 

Dealing with the Migratory Phenomenon. It was agreed to deal with the migratory phenomenon in an integral fashion, based on a shared responsibility approach, to ensure that the flow of persons between the two countries happens in an orderly, safe, documented fashion, with full respect for people’s rights. They also highlighted the importance of encouraging the development and safety of border communities.

 

In this respect, President Calderón highlighted the progress of the Integral Southern Border Program promoted by his government to guarantee respect for human rights and the legal protection of Guatemalan migrants for whom the states in this region constitute either a temporary or a permanent destination. He added that the Mexican authorities will shortly implement the Migratory Form for Border Workers (FMTF) as a result of Mexico's commitment to carry out actions to guarantee the documentation of temporary Guatemalan workers in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche and Quintana Roo.

 

The use of the Migratory Form for Local Visitors (FMVL) will also be expanded to facilitate access to 72 municipalities in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche for Guatemalan citizens living in the provinces of San Marcos, Quiché, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Petén, Retalhuleu and Alta Verapaz who visit the border towns of Mexico for up to three days.

 

After commending the advances and objectives of the Integral Southern Border Program, President Colom hailed the actions abut to be implemented to expand the aforementioned migratory forms, to improve the documentation, legal protection and administration of the flows of Guatemalan persons that temporarily move to Mexico.

 

At the same time, President Calderón informed President Colom that Mexico has a Migratory Regularization Program, through which over 20,000 foreigners have been regularized, the majority from Guatemala. He added that in order to streamline operations, during the course of this year new criteria will be established whereby Guatemalan nationals that are currently illegally resident in Mexico and interested in residing in the country will be able to apply for the regularization of their migratory documentation. Mexican authorities have decided to consider that for migratory regularization or the extension of the latter, Guatemalans will be able to present a passport or other official document containing the same information.

 

President Colom hailed the new criteria that will be established in this program, which will encourage greater migratory regularization. The presidents agreed to launch an information and orientation campaign among Guatemalans on the benefits of these programs. Through the respective authorities, the two governments will determine the places where border workers will be able to obtain the necessary documentation, making every effort to ensure that they are near their places of residence.

 

Human development. The two governments agreed that the best way to counteract poverty is through the implementation of integral development programs that will encourage better living standards in the two countries. To this end, and due to the interest expressed by President Calderón, he offered to develop a technical cooperation program to share the Mexican experience in the development of social development projects and programs, particularly in relation to the Popular Insurance Scheme promoted by the Mexican government for the population not covered by formal social security. They also agreed to give priority to the development of housing programs, by taking advantage of the cooperation developed by the Mexican National Housing Commission and Reforestation, through the ProTree Program, to help preserve the environment, particularly water basins and forests.

 

In order to promote sustainable development through education and forest training, President Calderón and President Colom agreed to instruct the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR)/National Program of Forest Education and Training (PRONAECAF) in Mexico, and the Technical Institute of Training and Productivity (INTECAP) of Guatemala, to determine whether the two institutions could sign a cooperation agreement that will enable them to exchange experiences in this area with the aim of training Guatemalans and Mexicans from these states.

 

The Presidents agreed to encourage authorities of both countries, within their respective spheres of competence, to implement environmental clean-up programs in the cities of Tecún Umán, Guatemala and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas.

 

In order to improve the educational systems of the two countries, the Latin American Institute for Educational Communication (ILCE) will be asked to draw up the appropriate diagnoses and propose the necessary programs to train in-service teachers in educational techniques.

 

Security and Procurement of Justice. The two governments acknowledged the importance of close bilateral and regional cooperation in security and the procurement of justice, as a necessary condition for combating transnational injustice in all its forms. Within this framework, President Colom informed President Calderón of Guatemala’s interest in finding out about the Mexican Federal Investigations Agency’s (AFI) experience, as a result of which it was decided to promote cooperation in this sphere. They also agreed to review and strengthen the High-Level Group on Border Security (GANSEF), and they instructed their respective authorities to hold a meeting with the group during the first quarter of 2008 before the Binational Commission meets.

 

At the same time, they agreed to support the organization, during the third quarter of 2008, of the Third Meeting of the Central American-Mexican Dialog on Security.

 

Trade and Investments. The presidents highlighted the importance of bilateral trade for the two countries and the opportunity this provides, particularly for small and medium firms. In this respect, they agreed to implement actions to promote trade and investment, such as the implementation of the accumulation of origin included in the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the United States of America and Dominican Republic (CAFTA-RD), and to encourage meetings between Mexican and Guatemalan businessmen.

 

In keeping with President Colom’s request, and in order to encourage the advantages of trade while preventing risks for Central Americans traveling from various points in the United States, President Calderón stressed his government's willingness to revise and streamline the mechanism for dealing with transmigrants. This mechanism will facilitate the movement of Guatemalan nationals and their goods from the United States by providing different forms of entry into Mexican territory.

 

Tourism. In order to continue developing this sector, which has a high potential for job creation and attracting dividends, the two presidents highlighted the need to expand collaboration at the bilateral and regional levels, and above all to promote initiatives such as Mundo Maya – the Maya World.

 

Within this sphere, they pledged to promote the creation of a documentation mechanism that will facilitate travel by those wishing to visit the tourist zone of Mundo Maya.

 

Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialog and Agreement. Both governments, convinced of the importance of reconciling the positions of the countries in the region and the importance of the Tuxtla Mechanism in this respect, agreed to continue reinforcing this important forum. They also repeated their commitment to support actions to reinforce the Puebla-Panama Plan, the results of which will be presented at the 10th Tuxtla Summit, to be held in Mexico in mid-2008. They also agreed to promote the key projects derived from this regional initiative, and to consolidate it as a program of Mesoamerican integration for development.

 

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(Presidency of the Republic, January 15, 2008, Guatemala City)

Translation Presidency of the Republic (edited)