The Ninth Meeting of the 21st Century Border Bilateral Executive Steering Committee was held yesterday in Washington, D.C. The meeting was chaired by the Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State and Homeland Security Departments and attended by officials from various federal agencies of both countries.
The participants reviewed the progress of the November 2017 Action Plans of the three subcommittees (infrastructure, secure flows and law enforcement) and discussed joint freight processing; travel facilitation programs (Trusted Traveler and Global Entry); standardization of cargo manifests; and the progress made on the Mexicali-Calexico I, El Chaparral-San Ysidro, Anzaldúas, Rio Bravo-Donna and Otay II ports of entry.
On security issues, they reiterated their interest in closely coordinating the exchange of information in order to address common challenges at the border.
The meeting reflects the value of the institutional border coordination mechanisms between Mexico and the United States, whose purpose is to make our common border into a place of shared opportunity and development through dialogue and cooperation.
The 21st Century Border Management Initiative was adopted by the presidents of both countries in May 2010 and annual meetings have been held since then.