国际英语新闻:Mexican president-elect pledges cooperation with U.S. over illegal immigration

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday pledged continued cooperation with the United States in tackling illegal immigration from Mexico.

In his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, just four days prior to his inauguration, the president- elect applauded Obama's agenda on immigration reform.

"We fully support your proposal," Nieto said, adding "We want to contribute. We want to be part of this."

As immediate neighbors, Mexico and the U.S. are closely connected demographically, with over 1 million U.S. citizens living in Mexico and Mexico being the largest source of immigrants to the United States.

However, illegal immigration has been a cause of friction with Mexico, as 62 percent of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. originate from Mexico as of 2009.

For his part, Obama told reporters prior to his meeting with Nieto that he looked forward to continuing work with Mexican officials on "border issues" as well as "regional and global issues," noting that Mexico is not just a bilateral partner, but a "multilateral, multinational" leader.

Obama said he looked forward to establishing a similar "close personal and professional relationship" with Nieto, who will assume the presidency on Saturday.

The president has announced that his deputy Joe Biden will lead a U.S. delegation to Nieto's inauguration.