Biden, Lopez Obrador to create working groups on arms traffic -White House

(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have pledged to create a working groups on arms trafficking and related transborder crime and border security, the White House said in a statement issued Friday.

Biden and Lopez Obrador also announced a joint investment to address causes of migration, increase incomes for small farmers and reduce deforestation in southern Mexico, the White House said of Thursday’s meeting of the two.

The presidents discussed the importance of investigating and prosecuting human traffickers and seeking a new regional compact on migration.

The United States and Mexico also pledged to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for joint cooperation on mental health, substance use disorder, and addictions.

(Reporting By Paul Grant; Editing by Hugh Lawson)