WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she and President Trump had a \u201ccordial\u201d hourlong meeting in Washington that ended with both leaders extending invitations to visit each other\u2019s country. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll arrange a date later,\u201d Sheinbaum told reporters outside the Mexican Cultural Institute.<\/p>\n
The meeting was the first time the two had met face to face and followed months of clashes between the United States and Mexico over contentious issues such as trade, immigration and how to combat drug trafficking.<\/p>\n
But on Friday, the two world leaders were brought together by soccer. <\/p>\n
Sheinbaum was in Washington to attend the FIFA World Cup<\/a> 2026 draw at the Kennedy Center, alongside Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the soccer tournament, which begins in June.<\/p>\n In a social media post, Sheinbaum said the three leaders talked about \u201cthe great opportunity that the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents for the three countries and about the good relationships we have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe agreed to continue working together on trade issue with our teams,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n She later reiterated to reporters that the meeting had been \u201cvery positive,\u201d and that she impressed upon Trump that Mexico is \u201cextraordinary\u201d country. She said she personally invited him to visit Mexico, and that he extended an invitation to come back to Washington.<\/p>\n Asked if Trump asked anything of her, she said he had \u201cnothing in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n After months of friction between the two countries, the meeting on Friday could break the ice and set the stage for policy negotiations as both presidents navigate pressures from their constituencies. <\/p>\n Since the start of his second term in January, Trump has threatened to impose large trade tariffs on Mexico, the United States\u2019 largest trade partner \u2014 but so far, Sheinbaum has been able to stave off many tariffs<\/a>. <\/p>\n Trump and his team have also been floating the prospect of U.S. strikes on suspected criminals and drug laboratories in Mexico<\/a>. But Sheinbaum has insisted she would not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels within its nation\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n The ongoing negotiations come as Mexicans\u2019 attitudes toward Trump and the United States have continued to sour. <\/a>In contrast, Mexicans continue to see their own government\u2019s management of the border positively, according to a Pew Research Center report<\/a> published in July.<\/p>\n The upbeat aftermath of Friday\u2019s meeting belied profound differences of opinion between the leaders of two nations that have an almost 2,000-mile border and share deep economic, security and cultural ties.<\/p>\n The two North American presidents could hardly be more different: Sheinbaum is a scientist and life-long leftist activist who maintains a low-key demeanor; Trump is a real-estate scion who embraces right-wing talking points and craves being the center of attention. <\/p>\n Sheinbaum has had to walk a thin line as she has fought off Trump\u2019s repeated threats to impose punishing tariffs on imports from Mexico, a nation heavily dependent on cross-border trade with the United States.<\/p>\n