Pompeo to undertake 2-day visit to Panama, Mexico

Washington D.C. [USA], Oct 18 (ANI): United States (US) Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo is slated to travel to Panama City and Mexico City on October 18 and 19, respectively, to advance priority issues in bilateral relationships with Panama and Mexico.
In Panama City, Pompeo will meet with President Juan Carlos Varela and Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado on Thursday to discuss the ongoing US-Panama collaboration on regional priorities, including defending democracy in Venezuela and Nicaragua, and on issues including counternarcotics, counterterrorism, and illegal migration, as per an official statement.
The US Secretary of State will then proceed to Mexico City on Friday, where he will meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto and Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso, as well as with Foreign Secretary-designate Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon.
During the meeting, Pompeo will reaffirm the US' commitment to cooperate with both the current administration and the incoming administration of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on economic issues, shared security challenges, and reducing illegal immigration, the statement noted.
"These meetings will advance priority issues in our bilateral relationships with Panama and Mexico, in support of shared efforts to secure a safer, prosperous, and democratic region," it added.
Pompeo's visit to Mexico comes less than two months after US President Donald Trump reiterated his demand for the establishment of a wall along the US-Mexico border to curb the entry of immigrants into the United States. (ANI)