WASHINGTON — United States Vice President Joe Biden spoke today by telephone with the Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto about the prospects of a deeper energy integration between the two countries, the White House said.
During their telephone conversation, Biden and Peña Nieto stressed the importance of Mexico to the United States as a bilateral partner and regional leader in Latin America.
“The two leaders discussed the prospect of a deep energy integration, facing the North American Leaders’ Summit in Canada,” the White House said in a statement.
The meeting, to be held June 29 in Ottawa, will mark the first meeting between the leaders of Mexico, United States and Canada that will include the participation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Last February, during the Mexico-United States Bilateral Dialogue on the integration of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) energy systems, Mexico’s Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquín Coldwell said the energy reform opens new opportunities for integration between the two countries.
As part of this energy integration, pipelines are built with the United States and expands the network of power transmission lines to allow an increase in trade and ensure the adequacy of energy resources between the two trading partners.
The National Energy Control Center (Cenace) is in talks with the United States to develop the interconnection project between companies in Nogales, Sonora (Mexico), and Tucson, Arizona (United States).
The telephone conversation occurred after the Mexican president, with his U.S. counterpart President Barack Obama, spoke last week at the commemoration of Cinco de Mayo, and in anticipation of the coming meeting in Canada.
