August 9, 2007

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

President Bush and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico will travel to Montebello, Quebec, Canada, from August 20-21, 2007 to participate in the North American Leaders’ Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. In Montebello, the leaders will continue trilateral cooperation and information sharing to strengthen our security and enhance prosperity among the United States, Mexico and Canada, as well as discuss hemispheric and global issues. This third trilateral gathering of leaders shows our mutual commitment to maintain and cultivate the regional ties we have to each other. I am looking forward to another productive summit and will keep you posted of the positive results of the Security and Prosperity Partnership collaboration.

For more on the SPP, click here

In the last couple of weeks, we welcomed several high-level delegations from the United States to Mexico. On August 1, U.S. Treasurer Anna Cabral visited Mexico City to launch a regional initiative to bring basic financial services to those who lack access to mainstream financial institutions. Co-hosted by Mexico’s Secretariat of the Treasury and attended by Under Secretary Alejandro Werner, the seminar, ‘Financial Inclusion in Mexico,’ brought together representatives from the U.S. and Mexican governments, academia, and the private sector, including both commercial bankers and microfinance institutions.

Click here to read more about U.S. Treasurer Cabral’s visit

The U.S. Embassy, in cooperation with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and with support from the World Customs Organization, conducted a five-day training course July 23-27 on protecting intellectual property rights (IPR). This course, for 53 Mexican customs and law enforcement officials in the Port of Veracruz, focused on how to identify and interdict pirated and counterfeit goods, and to follow with appropriate administrative actions and criminal investigations. Reinforcing our mutual interest in the protection of intellectual property rights on both sides of the border, the U.S. Embassy will continue to cooperate with Mexican customs and law enforcement officials, and plan additional IPR training courses.

Click here for more on the IPR course

On August 13-17, 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) in Mexico City will conduct a regional project management training session for 18 Central American tax administration officials and 6 Mexican tax administration officials. OTA plans to conduct two more regional training sessions in Mexico on auditing, in November 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008. OTA will conduct a regional training course in Guatemala in September/October 2007 on auditing the oil and gas sector. Mexico’s tax authorities (SAT) will participate in all these sessions.

From July 29-August 1, the Border Facilitation Working Group (BFWG) toured seven U.S.-Mexico points of entry to witness first-hand conditions along the border and engage the private sector on solutions to facilitate cross-border trade. The BFWG is a bi-national group that was created out of the Merida Presidential meetings last March. The U.S. delegation was headed by DHS Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector, Al Martinez-Fonts, and included representatives from Customs and Border Protection, the White House (Homeland Security Council), Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, Department of State, General Services Administration, and Department of Transportation. This cross-border tour exemplifies U.S. and Mexican efforts to find solutions, both across domestic agencies and bi-nationally, to improve our cross-border trade cooperation.

From July 26-27, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Paul Atkins met with the Mexican banking regulator (CNBV), the President of the Stock Market, and Hacienda to discuss mutual recognition of U.S. and Mexican securities rules. CNBV officials agreed to partner with Atkins to develop programs to promote financial literacy in Mexico. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary David Bohigian accompanied Atkins.

On July 31, Ambassador Mark Lagon, the newly appointed head of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) arrived in Mexico for a three-day visit. He met with NGOs, journalists and Mexican government officials to discuss U.S.-Mexico cooperation against TIP, one of the most heinous crimes against human rights imaginable, and the spirit of partnership to improve human trafficking law enforcement, victim assistance, and public awareness in the region.

Click here to read more about the importance of partnerships and international outreach in TIP

On July 19, 57 scholarships were awarded to students and teachers from marginalized communities in Mexico City and the states of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Queretaro. The scholarships will allow these students to attend community colleges in the United States for two years and earn a technical degree. The scholarships, funded by the United States government through its Agency for International Development, were provided under the Training, Internships, Exchanges, and Scholarships (TIES) program. One-third of the scholarships are designated for students from rural Mexico and indigenous communities where young people rarely have an opportunity to pursue higher education. Students are required to return to their communities to implement development projects. The American people believe that education is key for development; these scholarships demonstrate our two nations’ commitment to higher education, economic development, and mutual understanding.

Click here for more on these scholarships

Recently there have been reports of threats made against American journalists in Mexico. Leading international organizations have expressed concerns about the security of journalists throughout the world and have highlighted the targeting and overall danger the news media faces on a daily basis. I take very seriously my responsibility to ensure the safety of all Americans who visit or reside in Mexico. Threats against journalists, in an attempt to intimidate them from reporting the truth, must be condemned by all of us who understand the important role of a free press in a democratic society. We will work with authorities in the U.S. and Mexico to do everything possible to ensure the safety of American reporters working along both sides of our common border.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to share with you information about the important bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States. May God bless both our great nations.

Sincerely,

Antonio O. Garza, Jr.

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