WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador agreed to spend $1.5 billion over the next two years to improve “smart” border technology during meetings Tuesday with President Joe Biden — a move the White House says shows neighbourly cooperation succeeding where Trump administration vows to wall off the border and have Mexico pay for it could not.

A series of agreements the two countries hammered out as their leaders spoke called for several other concrete moves, including expanding the number of work visas the US issues, creating a bilateral working group on labour migration pathways and worker protections and welcoming more refugees. Both also pledged to continue joint patrols for Mexico and Guatemala to hunt human smugglers along their shared border.

But the Biden administration hailed securing border funding from Mexico after years of failed attempts by former President Donald Trump.

“Borders that are more resilient, more efficient, and safer, will enhance our shared commerce,” Biden and López Obrador said in a joint official statement. “We are committed like never before to completing a multi-year joint US-Mexico border infrastructure modernization effort for projects along the 2,000-mile border.”

López Obrador said both countries “should close ranks to help each other” amid spiking inflation and border challenges brutally underscored by 53 migrants who died last month after being abandoned in a sweltering tractor-trailer on a remote back road in San Antonio.

Speaking of the migrant deaths in Texas — which included people from Mexico and Central America — Biden said “we know we have to meet these challenges together.” He said the US and Mexico agree on the need to increase opportunities for legal migration, especially since more workers can help alleviate US labour shortages and potentially help calm rising prices.