President Obama meets with his counterparts to the North and South today, welcoming Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico to the White House for the North American Leaders' Summit.

"This meeting will build on wide-ranging and ongoing cooperation among the United States, Canada  and Mexico with a particular focus on economic growth and competitiveness, citizen security, energy  and climate change," according to the White House. "The leaders will also discuss North America's role in the Americas in anticipation of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, later in April, as well as other global economic, political and security issues."

After a series of closed-press meetings, Obama, Harper and Calderon will face reporters in a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden this afternoon.

Today's summit makes up for a meeting previously scheduled for last November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit in Hawaii. The meeting was canceled when Calderon's top deputy was killed in a helicopter crash.