Under Secretary Zeya’s Opening Remarks to the U.S.-Mexico High-Level Security Dialogue Follow-on Meeting

As prepared

Thank you, Secretary Ebrard and distinguished colleagues from Mexico, for hosting this momentous occasion. I appreciate the opportunity to join you, Ambassador Salazar, and our partners across both governments to celebrate our shared vision for collaborating and realizing a safer and more secure future for both our nations.

I am proud of what this gathering represents. It reflects a spirit of friendship, partnership, shared responsibility, trust, and respect for sovereignty as we jointly strengthen our shared security and public health.

In October, we came together to establish the U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities. We recognized the harms and dangers associated with the production, trafficking, and consumption of narcotics, especially synthetic drugs. We pledged to work together to address arms trafficking, disrupt illicit finance, and reduce homicides. We are standing together against the violence of transnational criminal organizations to foster more secure communities for our people.

As we celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations between the United States and Mexico, we also commit to develop joint actions to guide our cooperation to tackle these complex issues into the future.

Today, I am honored to communicate on behalf of our U.S. partners that these joint actions set a strong foundation for our expanded cooperation to protect our people, prevent transborder crime, and pursue criminal networks.

Our cooperation demonstrates to our citizens that democracy delivers and advances other goals of mutual interest under the Summit for Democracy, North American Leaders’ Summit, North American Drug Dialogue, and other mechanisms of cooperation.

I encourage all of us to continue to learn, build trust, and innovate. I also encourage us all to strengthen our diverse partnerships with the private sector; international and non-governmental organizations; and federal, state, and local institutions to address these complex challenges.

We are proud to partner with you on the world stage in the United Nations and other regional bodies on these key priorities, such as countering corruption, combating cybercrime, and preventing the use of precursor chemicals in the production of illicit fentanyl and other drugs.

Let us commit to continual learning and information sharing, and to follow through on our joint desire to regularly evaluate and publicly communicate the impact of our joint efforts on security, health, and safety. I look forward to the conversation today and would like to thank you again for your enduring partnership. Thank you.