The United States, Mexico and Canada announced a broad agreement Wednesday for securing North America while enhancing economic and trade ties. The initiative, among other things, aims to prevent terrorists and drug traffickers from crossing borders while preventing the spread of disease and protecting the environment. U.S. President George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox announced the plan after meeting in Waco, Texas. "It's important for us to work to make sure our countries are safe and secure, in order that our people can live in peace, as well as our economies can grow," Bush said. "We've got a lot of trade with each other," Bush added. "We intend to keep it that way." The initiative, called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America", calls for the government's various agencies to more closely work together, including areas of border security, and aviation and maritime transportation. --More 0007 Local Time 2107 GMT
