U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to Panama last week to discuss transcontinental migration with officials from several countries and international organizations, the Department of State announced.
Blinken and Mayorkas participated in the Ministerial Conference on Migration, held April 19 and 20 in Panama City, the DOS reported at the time. The Secretaries met with representatives of 22 Latin American countries and multiple humanitarian and financial organizations, to develop joint strategies for confronting migration in the region, the report states. Prior to the meetings, the U.S. and Panama signed an agreement to increase cooperation between the two countries to combat immigration challenges, the DOS reports.
"Here in Panama we talked about some of the most urgent aspects of this issue," Blinken said at a news conference after the meetings. He said priorities include assisting communities hosting migrants; increasing legal pathways for refugees; and addressing the causes of migrations by increasing economic opportunities and security, fighting crime and corruption, and contending with climate change in migrants' countries of origin.
"This is how we deepen our coordination," Blinken said in the report, "and this is how we make more progress in helping vulnerable people, support communities, and protect the security of our borders."
Panama's Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes said the region was facing a "migration crisis" due to the "unprecedented increase" in migrants in the past year. She thanked the participating delegations for attending the conference, saying a regional strategy is needed to address migration issues.
"The cooperation between countries of origin, of transit, and destination countries for transcontinental migration was shown to be an efficient alternative to combat this unstoppable phenomenon, but we cannot relax," Mouynes said in the report.
Blinken also said the migration issues require continuous attention, according to the DOS.
“Our work together is going to continue at the Summit of the Americas in June," Blinken said, "where we hope that leaders from across the region will be able to lay out shared principles for a shared response to regional migration and forced displacement."
