March 21, 2005

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that he will travel to Texas on March 22-23 to attend a meeting of North American leaders hosted by United States President George W. Bush. The purpose of the meeting is to explore trilateral avenues for moving the New Partnership agenda forward.

The three leaders will meet Wednesday morning at Baylor University in Waco. Afterwards, President Bush will host Prime Minister Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox at a lunch at President Bush's ranch in Crawford.

"We hope to set a practical and pragmatic agenda where Canada, the US and Mexico will focus on detailed issues where we want to see progress across the three areas of security, prosperity and quality of life for our citizens", said the Prime Minister. This will be a comprehensive agenda that builds on previous accomplishments - such as the Smart Borders Action Plan - and sets a workplan that outlines where action will be taken, challenges diminished and opportunities seized."

The New Partnership was agreed to by President Bush and Prime Minister Martin at their meeting in Ottawa last November. In the Fall of 2004, President Fox visited Ottawa where he and Prime Minister Martin agreed on a Canada-Mexico Partnership.

The workplan agreed to in Texas will effectively complement both bilateral initiatives, and launch follow-up by the three governments on a cooperative North American approach. Leaders are expected to agree to regularize follow-up meetings by Ministers to review work, ensure continued progress and outline next steps.
Accompanying the Prime Minister in Texas will be Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Anne McLellan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew, and Industry Minister David Emerson.

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