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 You are in: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs: Press Relations Office > Press Releases (Other) > 2003 > November 
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 10, 2003


United States - Mexico Binational Commission

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Ernesto Derbez will host the 20th meeting of United States-Mexico Binational Commission (BNC) on November 12, 2003, in Washington D.C. The BNC was established in 1981. It meets annually, alternating between Washington, D.C. and Mexico City.

The BNC reflects the mutual desire of President George W. Bush and President Vicente Fox to address shared problems and challenges pragmatically and to collaborate on building a better, more prosperous future for the citizens of both nations.

Cabinet officials and agency chiefs from both nations meet in working groups on specific topics. These groups are in contact throughout the year; the annual meeting provides an opportunity to review group activities and discuss future directions. This year’s BNC includes 14 groups: Foreign Policy; Migration and Consular Affairs; Homeland Security and Border Cooperation; Law Enforcement and Counter-narcotics; Trade and Economics; Energy; Labor; Science and Technology; Education; Environment; Natural Resources; Health; Housing; and Transportation.

The BNC will review activities and announce a number of new initiatives, including:

  • Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and Mexican Secretary of Interior Santiago Creel will discuss establishing a secure hotline to give them the ability to pass time-sensitive information about security issues.
  • Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Rafael Macedo de la Concha will review their respective agencies' ever-increasing levels of cooperation and mutual confidence across the broad spectrum of law enforcement and counter-narcotics efforts.
  • Our two governments will reiterate their commitment to work together to gradually advance the migration issue

Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson and Presidential Public Policy Coordinator Eduardo Sojo will host a concurrent meeting of the Partnership for Prosperity, a public-private alliance established by Presidents Bush and Fox in 2001 to spur economic growth in less developed regions of Mexico.

Secretary Powell will host a luncheon for senior participants at the Department of State.

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