Obama to Visit Mexico and Costa Rica in May

In a trip aimed at reinforcing cultural, familial and economic ties with Mexico and Central America, President Obama will visit Mexico and Costa Rica in May, the White House announced Wednesday.

The president’s trip is scheduled for May 2 to 4.

In Mexico, Mr. Obama plans to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto for talks that the Mexican foreign ministry described earlier as focused on security, immigration and trade. The two leaders, who spoke by phone on Wednesday, last met when Mr. Peña Nieto visited the White House in November, shortly before he was sworn in to a six-year term.

The White House said Mr. Obama “welcomes the opportunity to discuss ways to deepen our economic and commercial partnership and further our engagement on the broad array of bilateral, regional and global issues that connect our two countries.”

Mr. Obama will focus on the same issues in Costa Rica, where he plans to meet with President Laura Chinchilla and the leaders of other Central American countries and the Dominican Republic.

The United States maintains deep trade ties with Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, and it is a partner in combating drug trafficking there and in Central America.

Mr. Obama would be the first American president to visit Costa Rica since Bill Clinton visited in May 1997, to meet with then-President José María Figueres. Mr. Obama and Ms. Chinchilla last met in April at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.

In an interview released Wednesday, President Obama told the Spanish-language network Telemundo that he was anticipating the trip.

“I’m looking forward to having a couple of days of important consultations and emphasizing, underscoring, how important it is for us within this Western Hemisphere to be able to strengthen our economic ties,” he said. “Because that will be good for all the parties concerned. They’ll have a greater chance of success and opportunity.”