Mexico’s new president has unveiled a plan to address US-bound migration, signing an agreement with Central American leaders within hours of donning the presidential sash.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, sworn in on Saturday, was always expected to hit the ground running – but even so, the speed of the announcement surprised.

In a deal that will likely delight Donald Trump, Mr Lopez Obrador agreed with the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala, and the vice-president of El Salvador, to create a fund to stem the US-bound flows of migrants.

Leaders of the four countries have agreed to ask their finance ministries, in the first quarter of 2019, to come up with a plan which includes “programmes, projects, and specific actions, for the sake of jobs generation and poverty fight in the region.”

The programmes will be supported by an “integral development plan”, aimed at making the Central American nations a better place to live, and thus reduce the number of those leaving. It will be backed by CEPAL - the economic commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.