U.S. President Barack Obama arrived here Thursday to meet with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, before both head to Costa Rica Friday to attend the summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA).

This is Obama's first visit to Latin America in his second and final term in office with several clear goals in mind: to strengthen economic ties with countries in the region, many of which have seen their economies thrive despite a global financial crisis, to boost security and revive the U.S.-led hardline war on drugs, observers said, adding however none of those goals will necessarily be easy.

Obama himself said recently of his trip to Mexico "We've spent so much time on security issues between the United States and Mexico that sometimes I think we forget this is a massive trading partner, responsible for huge amounts of commerce and huge numbers of jobs on both sides of the border."

"A lot of the focus is going to be on economics," Obama said, " I want to make sure that we express to some of our closest friends and partners our interest not only in security, but in the incredible economic opportunities, in trade or energy, that we can achieve."

For the United States, the trip serves to promote trade opportunities in tough economic times, and to show its support for the fledgling government of Pena Nieto, a steadfast U.S. ally in an increasingly independent-minded Latin America.

Faced with a sluggish economy and an urgent need to boost foreign trade, Obama has identified Latin American countries as " partners for development" at several integration forums, such as last year's Organization of American States (OAS) Summit in Cartegena, Colombia.

Luis Prados, a political observer with the Spanish daily El Pais, sees a more focused objective to Obama's decision to visit Mexico prior to attending SICA.

The U.S. president's visit "also represents significant backing for the reform agenda presented by President Enrique Pena Nieto, and for the business opportunity that could emerge from the takeoff of Latin America's second largest economy," after Brazil, said Prados.

Many of Pena Nieto's proposed reforms, including opening up Mexico's state-owned oil industry to private investment and the telecom sector to greater competition, would provide major opportunities for U.S. investors and companies.

Liberal political analyst Sergio Aguayo, a professor at the prestigious El Colegio de Mexico, believes Obama's visit has both positive and negative connotations.

The visit "is a courtesy towards Pena Nieto, but also an acknowledgment that something isn't working right along the southern U.S. border," he said.

"A secure border has been strategically key to the U.S. since 1929," said Aguayo, adding "it worked well for many decades, but in recent years it has sprung leaks all over the place."

"Obama's visit is a sign of the priority that the U.S. president is giving Mexico in his second term. It is an opportunity to review bilateral ties," Aguayo added.

Mexico is the U.S. second largest export market and the third largest trading partner with bilateral annual trade amounting to 500 billion dollars. Mexico is also a major source of undocumented immigrants as well as drugs to its northern neighbor with the two sharing a 2,000-mile (about 3,219 kilometers) long border.