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AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled Thursday to host his Mexican counterpart, Guillermo Galvan, at the Pentagon to discuss bilateral security and cooperation.

During his three-day tour of the United States, Galvan will meet with Gates midday Thursday in talks focused on "regional and bilateral security and cooperation," a Pentagon spokesman told AFP.

Galvan also plans to meet Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as well as visit several military installations, the Mexican government said in a statement.

The United States and its southern neighbor have increased their cooperation in recent months as Mexico battles feuding drug cartels operating along the border in a brutal war that has killed more than 7,700 people since the start of 2008, despite a government clampdown involving tens of thousand of troops.

The US government has boosted its security force presence at the border, while Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed 36,000 troops across Mexico to combat organized crime.



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