DHAKA: Mexico will not pay for Donald Trump’s border wall, the country’s president has said in a message to the nation.

Enrique Pena Nieto said he ‘lamented’ the plans for the barrier, adding that “Mexico does not believe in walls”.

But he made no mention of canceling or postponing a trip to Washington on 31 January to meet the new US president, reports the BBC.

Trump has signed an executive order for an “impassable physical barrier” and has insisted Mexico will reimburse the US for it.

Pena Nieto told the nation in a televised address: “I've said time and again; Mexico won't pay for any wall.”

“I regret and condemn the decision of the United States to continue construction of a wall that, for years, has divided us instead of uniting us.”

But Pena Nieto said his country offered “its friendship to the American people and its willingness to reach accords with their government”.

BDST: 1900 HRS, JAN 26, 2017
LM/BD