Trudeau arrives in Washington for Three Amigos, meetings with U.S. officials

Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Washington, D.C., for two days of meetings with U.S. officials and the Three Amigos summit.

The busy tour marks Trudeau's first visit to the U.S. capital since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prime minister, who is being accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, arrived at Andrews Air Force Base Wednesday morning before a question-and-answer session hosted by the Wilson Center.

He will then spend most of the rest of the day meeting members of Congress before attending a gala this evening hosted by the Canadian American Business Council.

On Thursday, Trudeau is scheduled to appear in the morning at a local middle school alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

He will then hold individual meetings with Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador and U.S. President Joe Biden before three leaders gather for the North American Leader' Summit to discuss the challenges facing the continent.

It will be the first meeting of the so-called Three Amigos since 2016, before Donald Trump's election as U.S. president put the semi-regular gathering on hiatus.

Prior to the Three Amigos meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly met Tuesday with her Mexican counterpart where the two discussed a variety of issues.

Those included recent developments in Central and South America, including the worsening situations in Venezuela and Haiti.

Joly also raised concerns voiced by Canada's mining and energy industries about proposed changes to Mexico's energy sector that have stoked fears about a push toward nationalization.

Joly "mentioned that Canada hopes to collaborate with Mexico to resolve this issue and underscored the need to provide certainty to Canadian investors operating in Mexico," according to a readout provided by Global Affairs Canada.