CANCUN, Mexico, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Mexico, the United States and Canada reached an agreement here on Friday to create an organization to boost competitiveness of the countries' industries.

    The new body, the North American Competition Council (NACC), would be made up of private sector officials and given the task of making recommendations for boosting the competitiveness of industries including autos, transport, steel, manufacturing and services, the leaders said at a press conference after their summit.

    Mexican President Vicente Fox, U.S. President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper held a two-day meeting ending Friday to discuss issues including development, security and migration.

    The creation of NACC is one of the five initiatives agreed by the three leaders to boost the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

    In other initiatives, the countries reached agreement on cooperation in emergency response, avian flu containment, energy security and border security. Enditem