President Pena Nieto and US Vice President Biden Meet at New Pope's Inaugural Mass The News
go to original March 20, 2013

President Enrique Peña Nieto greeted Pope Francis on behalf of the people of Mexico during the inauguration of his papacy Tuesday and invited him to visit Mexico as soon as convenient. Heads of state and representatives from more than 100 countries attended the pope's inauguration. The 266th leader of the Roman Catholic Church toured St Peter's Square and met some of the faithful. Italian media outlets say up to a million people were in the crowd. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid and Paul Brennan reports from Rome. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

President Enrique Peña Nieto said Tuesday that the time is right for Mexico and the United States to move ahead on an agenda to make North America more productive.

After meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and other leaders in Vatican City, Peña Nieto said in a press conference that Biden welcomed the idea of creating a stronger relationship between the United States and Mexico by “going beyond security issues and working toward building a more productive … North America.”

The president also said that Biden was “very optimistic” that immigration reform would eventually be passed in the U.S. “This is something to celebrate,” Peña Nieto said. “And I told him that we will do everything we can to collaborate.”

Peña Nieto, who took office on Dec. 1, said that Biden congratulated him on the advances Mexico has made during his first months as president.

Peña Nieto also met with Cuban Vice President José Ramón Machado, who said that Cuba will approve Juan José Bremer’s appointment as Mexico’s ambassador to Cuba.

The president spoke with Chilean President Sebastian Piñera about the Pacific Alliance trade agreement and touted an invitation to Spain from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

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