President Obama traveled to Ottawa on Wednesday to join the leaders of Canada and Mexico for his last North American Leaders’ Summit.
The summit is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first summit; he and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto initiated proceedings on Tuesday. The three leaders will discuss trade, climate change, economic policies, and national security. The meeting is known as the “three amigos summit.”
The meeting takes place during a key moment in global affairs. Among many of the topics for discussion, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union will most likely be one of them; Brexit has raised concerns about how to proceed with European trade.
Although discussing presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump is not on the agenda, he will likely be mentioned because according to President Obama, he has “rattled” world leaders. Since Mexican leader Peña Nieto is present at the summit, he will likely want to examine Trump’s statements about Latinos.
Prior to the summit, the White House stated that the three leaders will sign a pledge to generate 50% of their energy from clean sources by 2025. The summit was able to negotiate a North American Climate, Clean Energy and Environment Partnership, according to Trudeau at a joint press conference on Wednesday.
“The conversations were friendly, but also frank, and I’m reassured by the progress we have been able to make today. Relationships between the citizens of our three nations have always been strong, even when our governments haven’t always seen eye-to-eye,” said Prime Minister Trudeau.
Before the meetings began, Trudeau and Obama met with Peña Nieto in the National Gallery of Canada. Before Wednesday’s meeting, Trudea and Peña Nieto agreed that Canada would lift its visa requirement for Mexican visitors and Mexico would end restrictions on Canada’s beef imports. All three leaders vowed to maintain strength in trade.
Among the agreement on clean energy, the leaders also agreed to other issues such as: expanding programs to quicken pre-approved travelers across borders, providing businesses with one online portal at customs, and giving the UN Refugee agency $10 million US dollars to aid with migrants fleeing wars in countries such as Syria and Iraq.
