NALS

November 20, 2021

Institutional context

The North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) is a trilateral summit between the Mexican and American Presidents, and the Canadian Prime Minister. Initially, the Summit was part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), a continent level dialogue established in 2005. During the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, no official summits were held. The North American Leaders’ Summit was celebrated this year after a five-year pause.

AMLO - Biden Meeting

President Joe Biden received Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at the White House on November 18th. It was a diplomatic event in which the three leaders tried to project a united front amid trade disputes and concerns about increased migration at the US-Mexico border. Through this event, the U.S. and the Mexican Presidents met in person for the first time on November 18th. Several topics were mentioned during the meeting, some of which are economic cooperation, the COVID-19 pandemic, migration, development and security. The launching of the High Level Economic Dialogue, in September of this year, was also discussed as a tool for cooperation moving forward. The U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities, launched in October, was also part of the conversation. Both presidents pledged to create working groups on arms trafficking and related transborder crime and border security, and to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for joint cooperation on mental health, substance use and addictions.