- The Water Treaty, one of the great achievements of Mexican diplomacy that we must not put at risk: Ebrard.
- New Act 325 establishes a clause committing the United States to cooperate with Mexico in the event of extreme drought or other emergency for humanitarian reasons.
Today, during the President of Mexico’s daily morning press conference, the Foreign Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, affirmed that a very favorable agreement for Mexico with the US government regarding the Water Treaty of 1944, was reached through dialogue and international cooperation. In today's conference details were given about the signing of Act 325 by the Mexican and US sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) on the border between the two countries, a document that lays the foundations for the new agreement between Mexico and the United States.
Like the president, Foreign Secretary Ebrard thanked President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for their inclination to enter into this agreement and their commitment to provide the water necessary for human consumption in thirteen border cities: Guerrero, Mier, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Valle Hermoso, Camargo, Río Bravo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Acuña, Piedras Negras and Hidalgo, in case of facing a severe drought in the region.
The Foreign Secretary reiterated the Water Treaty’s relevance as one of the great triumphs of Mexican diplomacy. Likewise, he emphasized that it was possible to maintain the 1944 Water Treaty, whose renegotiation would have generated negative implications for Mexico.
"It would have meant putting the water supply at risk for border cities and millions of people in the subsequent cycles, more than the next election, for generations and generations in decades to come," the Foreign Secretary warned.
On the other hand, the Director General for North America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Velasco Alvarez, additionally emphasized that the relationship based on dialogue and mutual respect between Mexico and the United States made it possible to find a diplomatic solution guaranteeing humanitarian access to water for Mexico’s northern cities.
"Despite an asymmetry between our countries, since the signing of the Treaty and the subsequent acts, our sovereignty has always been respected and equitable and fair terms have been achieved," explained the Director General.
Under this new agreement, the United States accepted a clause committing to cooperate with Mexico for humanitarian reasons, as mentioned by President Lopez Obrador, in the event of an extreme drought or some other emergency, in addition to sharing information binationally to improve water management through a hydrology group.
Likewise, Velasco Alvarez stressed that not only the management of the Mexican Foreign Ministry, led by Foreign Secretary Ebrard, where the Mexican Consul in Houston, Alicia Kerber Palma, participated in a prominent way, but also the Ministry of the Interior; the National Guard; the Ministry of Defense; the Ministry of Public Security and Citizen Protection, represented by Undersecretary Ricardo Mejia Berdeja; the National Water Commission, headed by Blanca Jiménez Cisneros; and the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, with Humberto Marengo Mogollon, who collaborated on the national side.
From the United States, there was the participation of the State Department led by Secretary Mike Pompeo; as well as the Texas state government and the US Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission.
With this successful negotiation, the Government of Mexico reaffirms its commitment to act in strict adherence to technical criteria and international law to guarantee fair management of shared bodies of water, in full respect of sovereignty and access to water.
