THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release November 23, 1994 STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY President Clinton met over lunch today with Mexican President-elect Zedillo, who takes office on December 1. He is in the United States on a private visit as part of a pre-inaugural trip involving stops in Canada, Central America and the United States. The luncheon invitation represents a continuation of the traditional pre-inaugural meetings between Presidents-elect from both the United States and Mexico and their sitting counterparts. The luncheon meeting provided an opportunity for the two leaders to become personally acquainted and to engage in preliminary discussions on the broad agenda that characterizes one of our most diverse and important bilateral relationships. The President congratulated Dr. Zedillo on his election. The two leaders took note of the very positive results achieved under NAFTA in terms of increased trade, job creation and investment and reaffirmed their commitment to its smooth and rapid implementation. Dr. Zedillo expressed his intention to sustain Mexico's current economic policies of stable economic growth. The President expressed confidence in Mexico's economic prospects. The two leaders discussed immigration issues in light of the recent approval of Proposition 187 by the voters in California. They agreed to continue to work together in seeking solutions to the problems that arise in this area. President Clinton and Dr. Zedillo reaffirmed their mutual perception that our overall bilateral relationship is at an historic high and agreed to work closely together to strengthen it still further. The leaders also discussed the Summit of the Americas that the President will host in Miami on December 9-11. Both leaders recognized that the Summit holds the promise of being a milestone in building a strong hemispheric community of American democracies. # # #