UPDATE 1-Mexico calls on Biden to fix immigration status of Mexican nationals

(Adds Lopez Obrador comments)

MEXICO CITY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The incoming administration of U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden should take steps to settle the immigration status of Mexicans working in the United States, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday.

"We have been proposing that our countrymen who have been working for years should be regularized, contributing to the development of that great nation," Lopez Obrador told reporters in his regular daily news conference.

The Mexican president said such a move should complement plans to support poor Central American nations and southern Mexico, areas which send many migrants to the United States.

Lopez Obrador has been urging Biden to carry out an immigration reform, and earlier this week said he hoped the incoming U.S. president would address the issue quickly once he had taken office later on Wednesday.

Lopez Obrador also said combating the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recovery were key areas for the bilateral relationship, saying U.S. stimulus could eventually help Mexico.

The leftist Mexican leader wished Biden well for his inauguration, saying he hoped the event was peaceful. (Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)