October 4, 2007

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Earlier this week the Mexican Congress took a major step in putting an end to modern slavery by passing legislation against human trafficking on October 2. This legislation will give Mexican courts and police the tools to prosecute and punish those who would enslave or sexually exploit other human beings through deception or force. According to U.S. government estimates, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and about 80 percent of them are female. Up to half are minors.

Trafficking is a global problem that tears apart families and communities and tramples on human dignity. By recognizing trafficking in persons as a crime, Mexico is pushing this issue into the forefront and addressing these heinous offenses head-on. The United States stands ready to cooperate with Mexico and other like-minded countries in taking steps to put an end to these practices, in our own lands and abroad.

To read the Mexico section of the 2007 Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report click here

On September 27 and 28, the first Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change convened in Washington, D.C. Senior representatives of seventeen major economies and the United Nations attended this meeting, hosted by Secretary Rice. During this monumental gathering, participants, including President Bush, made national statements that outlined diverse points of view but also uniformly revealed the high priority everyone places on addressing energy security and climate change challenges.

Over this two day meeting, participants also identified significant opportunities for progress in key sectors, such as clean energy technologies, and spoke about a range of considerations for the long term goal of greenhouse gas reduction. Of great importance was the agreement to reconvene after the December 2007 United Nations climate meetings in Bali, Indonesia.

The government of Mexico played an important role by sending a high-level delegation from the Secretariats of Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, and Energy to this meeting, and has already begun implementing a National Strategy on Climate Change.

The work that the U.S. and Mexico as well as other nations committed ourselves to at these meetings in Washington could be our most important and challenging task yet. As difficult as this task may be, the richness of the natural beauty found in both Mexico and the U.S. merits our mutual cooperation and commitment so that we can preserve our environmental treasures for generations to come.

To read the Final Chairman’s Summary of the First Major Economies Meeting on Energy and Security and Climate Change, click here

To read my op-ed titled Addressing the Generational Challenge of Global Climate Change, click here

On September 21, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government agency, announced the approval of $250 million directed towards a construction financing project to build more than 15,000 low and moderate-income homes in Mexico. This initiative will assist smaller Mexican mortgage lenders to gain access to capital markets for additional housing development funding.

This is OPIC’s largest housing project in Latin America to date. The U.S. hopes that these OPIC resources will help to further President Felipe Calderon’s goal of constructing one million new homes per year during his administration.

To find out more about this OPIC funding, click here

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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