The government of the United States, the Mexican Agency of International Development Cooperation, the conservation organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and USAid or the United States Agency for International Development signed a letter of intent to “promote conservation and economic development in the south/southeastern region of Mexico.
The objective is “to support the efforts” of the southeastern Mexican states, and to this end, an initial investment of 30 million dollars is anticipated. The letter has the intention of adopting lines of coordination to implement policies, plans and strategies together and “to achieve a sustainable southeast.”
The announcement was made Thursday, the 24th during the Third Encounter of Governors of the Mexican South Southeast in Quintana Roo, where the governors, secretaries of the economy, and of the environment from Yucatán, Tabasco, Campeche, Veracruz, Chiapas and Oaxaca participated.
In a press conference, the ambassador of the United States, Kenneth Lee Salazar said that there is an “tremendous” interest in the region for the unique opportunity in the Maya jungle and the southeast of Mexico.
Mixed in with conservation discourse , the invited States addressed updates on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, as well as strategies for the attraction of new investments in the Mexican southeast and public -private partnerships for conservation and development.
You might be interested in — Global Trade Bridge Will Devastate Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity
The Ambassador of the United States added the importance of environmental conservation in the economic development of the region, in which infrastructure projects like the one in the Isthmus “will trigger more commerce in our countries and improve the movement of merchandise coming from Latin America and Europe,” in his words.
Security
In addition to “conservation” and “development” in the Mexican south-southeast, security was also a theme of the conversations between the United States and Mexico. This agreement took place a few days after the Mexican Secretary of the Navy announced, on February 3rd, that for the first time it will allow the United States to carry out military exercises on Mexican territory as part of the “Tradewinds 20221.” The event will be held from the 7th to the 21st of March.
The Ambassador from the United States said that in October of 2021, a new era in the relationship between the United States and Mexico on the issue of security had begun. He recalled a reunion of the Cabinet members of his country with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “Since that time we began a new period against violence in the two countries. The difference from what had happened with previous governments, is that now we do it together, we are working very well as partners,” Kenneth Lee Salazar said in a press conference.
The governors agreed to hold a follow up meeting to present the comprehensive projects. They announced that the proposals set forth in the letter of intent would receive follow-up in subsequent meetings.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas
