MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Nafta leaders show unity but problems persist.

President George Bush signed Wednesday a pact with the leaders of neighbouring Mexico and Canada aimed at boosting security and economic ties.

The security and prosperity partnership was launched at a Nafta, (North America Free Trade Association), summit with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Texas. But the summit agenda does not cover other contentious areas in their relations.

Canada has recently pulled out of the US missile defence programme, while Washington has accused Mexico of not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the US southern border. Mexicans for their part are concerned by the appearance of vigilante groups in states such as Arizona, ready to deal with new arrivals in their own way.

Mr Bush met Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox at Waco, after which they were due to fly by helicopter to his ranch at Crawford.

"It is important for us to work together to make sure our countries are safe and secure" President Bush said at a joint news conference at Waco's Baylor University.

A joint statement by the three leaders mentioned collaboration in energy, transport, financial services and technology. They also agreed to reduce costs of trade through "efficient movement of goods and people".

"In a rapidly changing world, we must develop new avenues of co-operation that will make our open societies safer and more secure, our businesses more competitive and our economies more resilient," the statement said.

President Fox acknowledged that the migration question, basically a guest-workers program, which is one of his priorities, had been discussed at the trilateral talks. Mexico has been pushing for a broad migratory understanding that would help the statues of an estimated six million Mexicans living and working undocumented in the US.

"We did indeed chat about the migration issue. We discussed it in a trilateral sense, how the border crossing points are doing, how we can ensure crossings" for people, but at the same time, "how we can guarantee that people who shouldn't cross don't do so and become a threat to our nations". "There are a million people a day crossing the border from Mexico into the United States, which presents a common issue, and the question is how to make sure those crossing the border are not terrorists or drug runners or gun runners or smugglers", insisted President Bush. "I have told (President Fox) that I will continue to push for reasonable, common sense immigration policy with the United States Congress".

Despite doubts on the subject raised by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the CIA, among others, President Fox defended his own management of Mexico's security matters. "Mexico has a very ambitious package in terms of security that starts in our southern border with our brothers and friends in Central American, with whom we also want to move forward together in regional matters".

Criticism of Mexico from some U.S. quarters is based on fears of the possible presence of terrorist suspects in Mexico who could use the country for launching attacks.

However, the U.S. government still has to come up with had evidence that Islamic terrorists could infiltrate into United States using the same routes as illegal immigrants who cross looking for better living opportunities.

Talks between Washington and Mexico on immigration, which have been subordinated to U.S. security concerns, now depend on President Bush's initiative to Congress of a program for temporary legalization of workers that falls far short of what Mexico originally proposed.