US-Mexico Binational Commission meeting. (statement from Secretary of State James Baker and joint statement)(includes background information) (transcript)

Ladies and Gentlemen, we've had a very full day, and we've had, I think, a very productive day. As [Mexican Foreign] Secretary Solana has said--and, I think, as our joint statement attests--we have accomplished a lot of substantive work in our meetings.

I would like to highlight for you just six points.

First of all, we agreed to push ahead to completion a comprehensive, integrated environmental plan to preserve our common heritage of water, soil, and air along our very extensive common border.

Second, we agree to strengthen our cooperation in combatting drug trafficking, with an increased effort to combat money laundering and the spread of trafficking in Central America.

Third, we agreed to improve our joint efforts to protect workers' rights and enforce health and safety standards.

Fourth, we agreed to increase our exchange programs among teachers, students, journalists, and other professions.

Fifth, we discussed how to remove the remaining barriers to our very important agricultural trade.

Sixth, we held important discussions on cooperation on immigration and consular affairs, improvement of border crossings, and we welcomed--for the first time--respresentatives of our housing, transportation, and labor departments to the work of the BNC [Binational Commission].

In addition to the substance of what we have achieved here today, I think that it's worth noting that this Binational Commission is also a very unique process or procedure.

There is no other country in the world with whom our President's Cabinet meets as a whole regularly and systematically to conduct important business at the highest level. And, I think, that that is as clear an expression as could exist of the special nature of the US-Mexican relationship.

Most of you know, I think, that I will be flying from Mexico directly on to Moscow, with a stop at Andrews [Air Force Base], and, of course, a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland. But the fact that I'm going from Mexico to Moscow, I think, provides a point of which we ought to take note.

The dramatic and revolutionary changes that are taking place in the world today are not just going on in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. There are equally dramatic changes, we believe, underway here in Mexico; perhaps quieter, but equally dramatic.

Under President Salina's leadership, Mexico has emerged from an economic crisis with renewed strength and confidence, restoring strong real growth and attracting investment from around the world.

We think that Mexico's success offers a lesson for the rest of the world that free market reforms combined with political courage and will reap real dividends for ordinary citizens.

Together with Canada, the two of us are negotiating the world's largest free trading regime uniting 360 million people and economic activity involving some $7 trillion in goods and services. And this North American Free Trade Agreement is the first step towards building a hemisphere in which trade is free--all the way from Alaska to Argentina.

Finally, as I said this morning, Mexico and the United States are pioneers in constructing something history has never known--the world's first completely democratic hemisphere. And I think that we are well on the way towards that goal.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I leave Mexico with increased confidence in the future of this great nation, the future of the US-Mexico relationship, and the future of our hemisphere as a whole.

US-Mexico Binational Commission

Joint Statement

The ninth meeting of the US-Mexico Binational Commission took place in Mexico City on September 9, 1991.

The two delegations, convinced that their continuing dialogue contributes to mutual understanding and cooperation, discussed the full bilateral agenda of the Binational Commission. They welcomed the positive spirit of cooperation that has grown increasingly stronger between the two governments in the context of mutual respect for national sovereignty and …