We exchanged diplomatic notes on two new border crossings. We agreed that US and Mexican councils along the border should meet more regularly on improving border safety coordination. We signed a memorandum of cooperation between our Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Mexican counterpart on housing, regional, urban and social development. We also advanced bilateral issues as diverse as cooperation on education, housing once again, and law enforcement.

The rich and growing agenda of the Binational Commission is a testament not only to the deep and extensive ties between the people of Mexico and the people of the United States. It also testifies, as I noted earlier, to a new dynamic to our relationship.

We also talked about other issues that our presidents will be talking about tomorrow, especially the issue of migration. I am enormously pleased with the progress we have made on this very difficult issue since my colleague and I started working on it at the beginning of our administrations. It is a very difficult, tough issue and we've got to do it right; not do it fast. And we have made a great deal of progress with respect to principles.

We are now getting ready to move from principles into specifics and programs and how would one design such programs to satisfy our needs, satisfy the needs of our peoples. And how do we do it in a way that we know the system will work when we put it in place. We want to be right, not in a hurry.

And so I am once again pleased to have the Secretary with me. This is our -- we've lost count now -- either our fifth or sixth extensive meeting over the last seven-and-a-half months. And, once again, it's my pleasure to welcome Secretary Castaneda.

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: Thank you, Colin.

(As interpreted.) I, too, want to repeat what Secretary Powell has said. I want to very much stress the frank and very open nature of this relationship that we have. Secretary Powell and I are meeting perhaps today for the sixth time. We've met in the past in Mexico and Quebec City as well. And our relationship is a very open one, it's a very fluent relationship and a very constructive one. And I want to very much thank the Secretary for everything we've been able to do.

And, second, I want to stress all the work that was carried out by the Binational Commission within each and every one of the working groups. The work carried out this morning by all of these groups has been substantive, it's been very constructive. And we have made progress in each and every one of the fronts that was dealt with. This has resulted in agreements that were reached.

We have very specific achievements that have been attained. Cooperation has been increased and strengthened, as Secretary Powell mentioned, in the area of legal issues, in the fight against drugs, for example, as well as in the area of migration and also in the area of trade.

In the area of trade, we made important headway in transportation, in sugar, and avocado, just to name a few. We also dealt with the issue of money laundering. And we very much stressed the issue of the environment and what we can do cooperatively and jointly in this area.

The fact that this Binational Commission meeting is taking place immediately before the summit meeting of our two presidents is something, I believe, that serves as a harbinger for very good things to come.

And, finally, I very much want to stress the fact that both our administrations, both our Cabinets and both members of this Binational Commission are going to be able to present a very good report to our presidents. The meeting of our two presidents is going to be historic because of the warmth between them, the close relationship that they have, and the extent of the issues they will be dealing with, the substance that they will be discussing in these issues, and also the very innovative issues that they will be taking on.

Therefore, Secretary Powell and I, I believe, are rightly pleased with the very good work that we and our colleagues were able to finish this morning.

SECRETARY POWELL: We would be delighted to take a question or two. I'm sorry we're running late; it will have to be short.

QUESTION: Secretary Powell, I understand that there are 48 Mexicans on death row in the United States. Ninety percent of them were denied their right under the Vienna Convention.

My question to you, sir, is if there is anything that the federal government can do in order to revise the cases that could be revised and what is your comment? What are your comments about this situation?

And for Secretary Castaneda, if I may, in light of the new relationship between Mexico and the United States, there is like a growing consensus about the possibility of getting rid of the certification process for Mexico. Did you talk about this subject and what are your thoughts about it?

SECRETARY POWELL: On the cases, as you know from our legal system and, for the most part, I believe in all cases, the 48, is a result of state actions and we monitor these. We observe these cases and we try to be helpful with Mexican authorities in reviewing these cases. But the federal government does not have much of a role to play. The federal judiciary may have a role to play, but not the executive branch, under our system. And I know this is a difficult issue, one that is watched very closely in Mexico. But it is essentially a legal matter before the states.

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: Since the question was asked in English, although by a Mexican reporter, I will reply to it in English.

One of the issues that was certainly raised in the course of the work on the legal issues and drug enforcement cluster was the certification issue. As you know, the Mexican Government has been particularly pleased that there is a certification suspension bill, S. 219, that has already passed unanimously through Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We are looking forward to it moving to the Floor of the Senate as soon as possible and also being approved there, and we are looking forward to cooperating with the Bush Administration in whatever ways are possible and are conducive to this type of a bill being approved as soon as possible.

QUESTION: Mr. Castaneda, you have famously said that Mexico wanted "the whole enchilada" in terms of migration talks. Does that mean that Mexico will not accept the guest worker program without some kind of regularization program, at least mentioned in the statement of principles that is coming out tomorrow?

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: As I'm sure you've noticed, Secretary Powell is on a diet, which means he has not been consuming whole or half enchiladas recently. (Laughter.)

More seriously, what I meant, and we have talked about this on many occasions before, is that as we stated in our joint statement in April, Secretary Powell and Attorney General Ashcroft, Secretary Creel, and myself, that migration has to be dealt with as a package deal, as an integrated solution. It is such a complex, delicate, longstanding and politically touchy issue in both countries, that we have to address all of the facets of the issue.

The term we used in English at the time was a "single undertaking." I translated this into Mexican-American, or whatever you'd like to call it, and that's what it meant. And the sense of it is that it's not an all-or-nothing deal; on the contrary, this is such an important negotiation. And as Secretary Powell said, we have to do it slowly, we have to do it right, and we have to do it constructively and realistically. What I did mean, and I continue to believe, and I think we agree essentially on this, is that we have to address all of the facets of the issue. We cannot only address one aspect, the one we would like most, or perhaps the one that the United States would like most, or that certain sectors of Mexican society or American society would like most.

We have to look at all of the facets of this tremendously complicated challenge. I think that's what we are doing. I think we have made immense progress in these seven months, and we are looking forward to continuing to work on the issue.

SECRETARY POWELL: I totally agree.

QUESTION: Could you please elaborate on the food safety agreement? And for the Foreign Minister, to help offset the recent OPEC production cut of a million barrels per day which took effect over the weekend, is Mexico prepared, if asked by the Bush Administration, to increase its oil exports and petroleum product exports to the US to help build inventories of petroleum products this fall and winter?

SECRETARY POWELL: Not to dodge the question, but there are others here in the delegations who can talk to the food safety issue with greater authority than I can, so we would like to make somebody available to you right after this.

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: I would make essentially the same comment. As you know, Energy Minister Ernesto Martens is here with us. I think perhaps he would be the most appropriate person to address your question to.

I would simply say that we continue to cooperate with the United States and with oil-producing countries to support reasonable, constructive, un-excessive but at the same time significantly adequate prices for oil for Mexico, but without provoking any excessive rise in prices. But I think Secretary Martens from Mexico is the person you should address your question to.

SECRETARY POWELL: I think we have time for one more.

QUESTION: (As interpreted.) The question is, with regard to the issue of immigration today, President Fox said to The Washington Post, he talked about a period of four to six years in order to exhaust the issue of immigration between both countries. Now, if this were to take six years or more, this would be after the Fox Administration.

The question is, what does President Fox mean by this, and is this due to problems that have arisen, problems with regard to the politics in Congress and the United States?

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: (As interpreted.) President Fox was very clear on this. He is referring to the end of this Bush Administration and the end of President Fox's only possible administration -- he can only serve for one administration -- that's when he wishes to finish dealing with the whole plethora of issues relating to immigration. This is not a deadline for an agreement --

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: You can use "the whole enchilada."

THE INTERPRETER: Oh, thank you. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY CASTANEDA: (As interpreted.) But simply, a deadline in order to resolve all the issues having to do with this 100-year-old problem. So an issue that would take perhaps four years during the Bush Administration in the United States and maybe the full six years of the Fox Administration is not too long a time to resolve a 100-year-old issue.