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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is dropping its visa requirement for Mexican visitors as of December 2016, while Mexico has agreed to lift long-standing restrictions on Canadian beef imports by October.

Trudeau made the announcement Tuesday alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is in Ottawa for bilateral meetings and Wednesday’s North American leaders’ summit.

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“We share values, goals and ambitions,” Trudeau said, noting that the two countries were setting out to “take action in ways that will make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Trudeau also said the two countries have agreed to work more closely together on aboriginal issues.

The previous Conservative government imposed visas in 2009 to stop thousands of asylum claims being made by ineligible Mexican citizens.

It was a controversial decision that caught the Mexican government off guard, and has stood as the major irritant between the two countries ever since.