Trump to visit Latin America

Washington, March 11 (IANS) US President Donald Trump will embark on his first visit of his presidency to Latin America next month, the White House has announced.

According to the announcement on Friday evening, the President will first travel to Peru for a summit meeting of Western Hemisphere nations, reports The News York Times.

Trump will then proceed to Colombia and meet his counterpart Juan Manuel Santos who had previously visited Washington in May 2017.

"This travel demonstrates the President’s resolve to deepen our historical ties with our partners in the region and to strengthen our joint commitment to improve security and prosperity for the people of the Americas," the White House said in statement.

The statement pointed to the significance of establishing relationships with countries that "share our values and believe that the promise of a safe and prosperous future rests in strong democracies, fair and reciprocal trade, and secure borders".

American presidents have attended the Western Hemisphere meeting, known as the Summit of the Americas, in previous years, Barack Obama made history there in 2015 by meeting with President Raul Castro of Cuba.

The visit comes after Trump reportedly called the Latin American nations as "shithole countries" in an immigration meeting in January, sparking wide protests in the region.

The US-Latin America ties have also been tested by Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the Mexican border, his order to impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminium and some Latin American nations’ joining of a regional trade deal, from which Washington withdrew in January 2017.