President Felipe Calderon and elected President Barack Obama

President-elect Barack Obama said President Felipe Calderon of Mexico is “moving his country in a direction that is unprecedented” on energy policy and said the U.S. relationship with its southern neighbor is “critical” to the economy. The “friendship between the U.S. and Mexico has been strong,” Obama told reporters today after meeting with Calderon at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington. “I believe it can be even stronger.” Calderon said he looks forward to stronger ties with the U.S. “The more secure Mexico is, the more secure the U.S. will be,” he said.

La Presidencia de la República informa que el 12 de enero, el Presidente Felipe Calderón Hinojosa viajará a Washington para sostener un primer encuentro de trabajo con el Presidente Electo de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama.

La reunión se celebrará en el Instituto Cultural de México en Washington, donde Felipe Calderón y Barack Obama dialogarán sobre los principales temas de la agenda bilateral y asuntos de relevancia regional y mundial.

Border experts say immigration, drug violence and the global economic downturn should be the foremost topics at Monday's meeting in Washington, D.C., between U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Calderón plans to talk to Obama during his Monday visit to Washington, D.C., according to a statement released Thursday by the Mexican president's office.

is also expected to broach the issues of the U.S.-Mexico bilateral agenda, which include immigration, trade and security.

In one of his last official acts, outgoing US President George W. Bush will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on January 13, the White House said Saturday.

The meeting in Washington will allow the two leaders to discuss the US-Mexico partnership in confronting "criminal organizations and related violence that plague the region, " the White House said in a statement.

The visit comes after the United States last month adopted a 197-million-dollar, anti-drug trafficking package for Mexico as the country faces spiraling drug violence.