Harris aiming to deepen US relationship with Guatemala and Mexico on first foreign trip... - 0 views
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Kamala Harris will try to deepen the United States' "strategic partnership and bilateral relationship" with Guatemala and Mexico on her first foreign trip as vice president, according to her senior staff members.
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"The goal of the vice president's trip is to deepen our strategic partnership and bilateral relationship with both the Guatemalan and Mexican governments to advance a comprehensive strategy to tackle the causes of migration," said Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser, in a call with reporters Tuesday night.
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The vice president and her staff have made it clear that they want to focus narrowly on diplomatic efforts in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where they believe they are more likely to achieve tangible results in addressing the root causes of migration, like economic despair, according to two White House officials familiar with the dynamic.
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"We will also engage community leaders, workers, young innovators and entrepreneurs, and others about ways to provide economic security, address the core factors of migration, and to give people the hope for a better life at home," Sanders added.
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The vice president will meet with Guatemalan community leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs as well as greet and thank US embassy staff, per Mazin Alfaqih, special adviser to the vice president for the Northern Triangle.
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"The vice president's strategy is built around catalyzing efforts across the United States government, regional governments," Sanders said, "as well as private sectors and philanthropic sectors and international partners."
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In next week's bilateral meeting, Harris will discuss with Giammattei "ways to increase economic opportunities in Guatemala, strengthen rule of law and deepen bilateral law enforcement cooperation," Alfaqih told reporters. Already in their virtual bilateral, the two sides agreed to increase the number of border security personnel, among other agreements. The US will also increase the number of its own security forces on the ground to provide training, Alfaqih said.
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In the vice president's meeting with Mexico's President, Harris will look to build on the two countries' previous agreements to secure the US-Mexico border and work to bolster economic opportunities in the region while establishing "further areas of collaboration," the officials said.
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Sanders wouldn't say whether Covid-19 vaccines would be a topic of discussion in both countries during the visit, just that they would discuss "Covid cooperation."
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The vice president has yet to call the leaders of El Salvador and Honduras, as both have underlying issues that have dogged US efforts in the region for years and her staff is finding the best way to engage. Those delayed talks show just one aspect of the challenges in this task.
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"We have to give people some sense of hope that if they stay, that help is on the way," Harris told CNN's Dana Bash in April. "It's not going to be solved overnight; it's a complex issue. If this were easy, it would've been handled years ago."