Mexican, U.S. presidents discuss economy, immigration by phone

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that he has discussed economic and immigration issues with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, amid a surge in undocumented migrants concentrating at the Mexico-U.S. border.

At his daily press conference, this time held in southern Oaxaca state, the Mexican president said that during the call on Thursday, he stressed the need to establish a development plan for Latin American and Caribbean countries, with an eye to curb mass migration north.

Mexico will take steps to regulate the current influx of migrants, he said.

"We are going to reinforce everything we can to help maintain the flow but in an orderly manner," Lopez Obrador said.

Recent weeks have seen an increase in the number of undocumented migrants arriving at the Mexican-U.S. border, especially Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Ecuadorians, according to the president.

The migrants are mainly concentrated in Piedras Negras, a city in northern Mexico's Coahuila state that borders the U.S. state of Texas, which has responded by closing rail crossings, interrupting the flow of trade.

Lopez Obrador said his government was also urging the United States to improve its relations with countries like Cuba and Venezuela, which would ease migrant flows.

A U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Mexico on Dec. 27 to discuss immigration.