MEXICO CITY - Mexico's President Pena Nieto said he was ready to work with US president-elect Donald Trump to help bilateral relations, and that the two countries would continue to tighten bonds of cooperation and mutual respect.

Pena Nieto was heavily criticized for receiving Trump in Mexico during the campaign, after the Republican candidate called Mexican immigrants rapists and vowed to build a wall between the two countries.

"Mexico and the United States are friends, partners and allies and we should keep collaborating for the competitiveness and development of North America," Pena Nieto said on his Twitter account.

Trump has said he could tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has increased commerce between Mexico, the United States and Canada, saying that it has killed U.S. jobs.