- The Central American leaders express their appreciation for President López Obrador’s initiative, which will mobilize resources and contribute his own experience
Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras agreed to lay the foundation for an understanding on establishing a Comprehensive Development Plan that will promote development and create opportunities in the region, in order to help prevent migration while simultaneously attacking its structural causes.
The ties and similarities between southern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras accentuate the need for a comprehensive regional perspective in addressing migration as a complex issue that requires capable governance in order to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration. The agreement also provides for giving priority attention to the entire cycle of migration (origin, transit, destination and return), guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, with full respect for and protection of human rights.
As part of the agreed actions, work will be done on creating a fund for the Comprehensive Development Plan, which includes programs, projects and specific actions to create jobs and fight poverty.
The leaders instructed their respective foreign ministries to work with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to identify, unify and coordinate existing areas of opportunity in the first quarter of 2019, and to design the Comprehensive Development Plan and its future implementation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The document was signed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his inauguration as president of Mexico, and by the presidents of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales; and Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández; and the vice president of El Salvador, Óscar Samuel Ortiz; and includes the following statement:
"El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras appreciate the initiative of the president of the United Mexican States to mobilize new resources and contribute his own experience to this joint effort."
With this initiative, the Mexican government makes a commitment to the region of the Northern Triangle to strengthen social development and to fight the causes of migration in a comprehensive fashion.