Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to meet virtually with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei to “collaborate” on migration solutions, according to a statement from a White House official.
Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders issued the following statement Wednesday evening:
Vice President Kamala Harris and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei will meet virtually on Monday, April 26. During this meeting, the two will discuss working together to address immediate relief needs of the Guatemalan people as well as deepening cooperation on migration.
The following day, the Vice President will participate in a virtual roundtable with representatives from Guatemalan community based organizations. This convening will be hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City and will underscore the importance of placing the Guatemalan people at the center of solutions to root causes of migration.
The Vice President last spoke with President Giammattei on March 30th. In that conversation, they agreed to collaborate on promoting economic development, leveraging technology, strengthening climate resilience, and creating the conditions to expand opportunity for people in their home countries in order to address the root causes of migration to the United States.
In the statement, Sanders noted that Harris and Giammattei’s conversation will include relief needs for Guatemalans, noting the two had previously spoken on March 30.
According to the statement, Harris is also slated to participate in a virtual roundtable with representatives from Guatemalan community-based organizations, which will be hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City.
According to an Axios report on the matter, Harris will also travel to Guatemala in June.
Last month, Harris, who was tapped by President Joe Biden to oversee solutions to the crisis on the southern border and has yet to make a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, told reporters “not today” in response to a question about her plans to visit.
“But I have before and I’m sure I’ll do it again,” Harris, who still has no plans to visit the border, added with a laugh.
“We’ve got to treat this issue in a way that is reflective of our values as Americans and do it in a way that is fair and is humane, but we have to meet the moment,” she said, giving no further clues on a planned visit. “There’s a lot of work going into that.”
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