Canada lifts Mexican visa requirement; Mexico ends Canadian beef ban

Canada will drop its controversial visa requirement for Mexican visitors starting from December this year, while Mexico will fully reopen its domestic market to all Canadian beef products from October this year, according to an agreement reached here Tuesday.

The agreement was reached by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who came to Canada for a two-day visit.

The visit by the Mexican president came ahead of Wednesday's North American Leaders' Summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in Ottawa, a gathering known as the Three Amigos.

At a joint press conference after his meeting with Pena Nieto, Trudeau said the move will make it easier for Mexicans to visit Canada, while growing Canada's local economies and strengthening our communities.

Pena Nieto voiced his satisfaction that the two main irritants in their bilateral relationship would be removed, paving the way for deeper co-operation.

"Since 2009, this barrier has been set, but today thanks to a great political will, we are overcoming such a barrier," Pena Nieto said..

The previous Canada's Conservative government imposed visas in 2009 to stop thousands of asylum claims being made by ineligible Mexican citizens -- a controversial move that has stood as the major irritant between the two countries ever since.

In a joint statement issued after a joint press conference, the two countries made a commitment to work in close cooperation to grow their cultural connections, expand growing trade and investment relationship, and find solutions to the shared challenges of climate change.

They promised to work together to advance the interests of indigenous people in both countries, in particular to help women gain access to education and foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Endite