The North American 'three amigos' summit, in pictures

This week President Biden made the first official state visit to Mexico in almost a decade. The last President to cross the southern border was Obama in 2014. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined what is known as the 'Three amigos summit' to discuss issues like migration, trading, and climate change.

The reunion comes after years of a somewhat tense relationship between Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador, who failed to recognize the American President's electoral victory immediately.

Lopez Obrador, known in his country as 'AMLO,' also called for a boycott of Biden's 2022 Summit of the Americas after the US President announced that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not invited. The Mexican President didn't attend and sent a representative instead.

However, the summit was an excellent opportunity to improve the relations between all three North American countries. According to The New York Times, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign minister, said deepening "personal relations" was a key goal.

Biden landed Sunday night at Felipe Ángeles airport, one of AMLO's signature infrastructures, farther away from Mexico City's downtown. The Mexican President welcomed him there.

According to NPR, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the ride towards Mexico City from the airport "gave them a chance to have a one-on-one chat on how they're seeing the world right now, what's on their minds."

Despite their good rapport during the ride, the official meetings on Monday had a rocky start, according to several media outlets. NPR reported that both Presidents had a contentious debate over the history of US support for Latin America.

Finally, after their first half-day together, the US and Mexican Presidents ended their private meetings with some very good impressions. Both leaders tweeted kind words about each other and even shared a group hug with their wives in the presidential palace.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau arrived on Monday afternoon at International Airport Felipe Angeles, where Lopez Obrador and his wife received him. The three leaders had dinner together in the presidential palace, and Trudeau had a one-on-one with Biden before the summit officially started on Tuesday morning.

Beyond the direct interactions between presidents on the summit's first day, the recent history of North American relations ─and Trump's role in slowing them─ lingered throughout the visit. The former President's migration and trading policies provoked some neighborly tensions.

According to NPR, Biden referred to the former President: "We cannot wall ourselves off from shared problems," he said, alluding to his signature border wall project. Canada's Trudeau also referenced Trump's tariffs and trade policies.

The outside also made its way into the summit when news broke of classified documents from when Biden was a VP had been found in one of his old offices, similar to what happened with Trump in his Mar-A-Lago residence.

The summit ended with a press conference focusing heavily on migration issues. According to The New York Times, President Biden defended his handling of the border and thanked his Mexican counterpart for accepting asylum seekers rejected by the United States.

On the other hand, when Lopez Obrador was asked about migration, he delivered a 28-minutes monologue that had both Trudeau and Biden visibly uncomfortable. According to Bloomberg, the Mexican President also discussed malaria, disability, and crime during his speech.

Energy remains a sticking point between the three parties as the US accuses Mexico of unfairly favoring domestic suppliers. According to experts cited by CBC, solving this ongoing dispute was one of Canada's goals for the summit.

Justin Trudeau's speech took the economic cooperation route. The Canadian PM claimed that the three leaders are "all dedicated to driving economic growth that supports the middle class and those working hard to join it."

In the end, the trilateral relations meeting ended without any specific policies. It is also unclear if the summit paved the way for these gestures and speeches to translate into long lasting cooperation.