Vice President Kamala Harris is set to virtually meet with Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador next month. The said virtual meeting will happen on May 7, and the high officials of the United States and Mexico will address the root cause of the border crisis, Fox News reported.

It can be remembered that in March, President Joe Biden tapped the U.S. Vice President to lead the efforts of the White House in addressing the border issues. Since then, Harris is expected to establish and work with Mexico and the northern triangle countries composed of EL Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
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VP Harris' Virtual Meeting With Mexican President 

The announcement of Harris' virtual meeting with Lopez Obrador was made by her office on Saturday, following the Republicans criticizing Biden and the vice president for not visiting the border, Newsweek reported.

"This meeting will deepen the partnership between our countries," Harris' office said in a statement. The vice president's office also noted that the partnership of the United States and Mexico aims to achieve the "common goals of prosperity, good governance, and addressing the root causes of migration."

Apart from Harris and Lopez Obrador, the vice president's office also disclosed that the Secretary of Foreign Relations Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, and Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier Carillo will join the virtual meeting that is set to happen next month.

Mexico's top diplomat on the other hand shared that the virtual meeting will also focus on Mexico's questioned tree-planting program, Associated Press reported. The said tree planting program is also known as "Sembrando Vida" which was proposed by Lopez Obrador to Biden, in an attempt to expand the program across Central America.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard echoed the announcement on Twitter, noting that the meeting will also discuss the proposal of Mexico in expanding the Sembrando Vida that will deal with the forced migration because of poverty. Ebrard believed that that the virtual meeting will be productive.

The meeting will happen amid the Republicans and other critics blamed the "dramatic liberalization" of the immigration and border policy of the Biden administration. Fox News noted that the surge in the border has reached 172,000 migrants in March.

Mexico's Sembrando Vida

The tree-planting program has already planted 700,000 trees in Mexico while paying $225 to 450,000 Mexican farmers every month, Newsweek noted. Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador also mentioned in the climate change summit that the said trees which were planted will help offset the effects of climate change.

However, environmentalists are questioning the said welfare program, particularly the planting of commercial species, sometimes on land that held native forests. Associated Press noted that in Mexico alone, opinions are mixed whether the program is working and effective in offsetting Mexico's other policy of encouraging fossil fuel usage.

Apart from the virtual meeting with Mexico's president in May, Fox News noted that Kamala Harris has plans to travel to the northern triangle region in June.

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