On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden will convene with leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean at the White House to address economic matters and migration. His goal is to strengthen relationships in the region in response to China and other international rivals.

Officials from Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay are anticipated to participate in the meeting on Friday, along with delegates from Mexico and Panama.

The first summit of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) is occurring during a time when Biden’s foreign policy priorities are focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Ukraine’s efforts to defend against Russian aggression.

Senior administration officials stated that the US will unveil new economic resources, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and private contributors, to support countries in the Western Hemisphere that are hosting migrants. The aim is to enhance economic cooperation and decrease the number of migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border.

A high-ranking government official stated that when countries collaborate on a shared economic plan, it can greatly impact the economic situation in a region that has been lagging behind in terms of technology adoption and utilizing nearshoring opportunities.

A second official stated that Biden firmly believed that directing economic resources towards countries hosting refugees and migrants is crucial in controlling migration patterns.

Six countries in the Americas, including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Panama, have granted legal recognition to millions of individuals who have been forced to leave their homes, according to the source.

“They have stepped up in big ways, and we are stepping up for them. APEP is a big part of that,” the official said.

Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, held a breakfast gathering at the Treasury on Friday. She informed the leaders that the U.S. will collaborate closely with the IDB to assist in improving the integration of supply chains in the region.

The speaker expressed the Treasury’s full backing for Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn’s initiatives to improve its private sector division, known as IDB Invest. The Treasury also pledged to collaborate with other shareholders of the bank to facilitate a substantial increase in capital for IDB Invest.

The largest development bank in the region, the IDB, will introduce a fresh funding platform catered to middle- and higher-income countries. This could potentially generate billions of dollars for investments in renewable energy, according to officials.

According to one official, the focus was on strengthening the region’s global competitiveness in the clean energy, semiconductor, and medical supplies industries.

The summit comes after a gathering of leaders from the Western Hemisphere in Los Angeles last year, with the goal of strengthening economic connections within the region and decreasing China’s impact.

During the “Summit of the Americas,” the United States and 19 other nations came to an agreement by signing a nonbinding declaration outlining actions to address the migration crisis.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of migrants who have illegally crossed the border between the United States and Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have made the journey north after passing through the dangerous Darien Gap, a dense jungle area between Colombia and Panama.

Source: voanews.com