UPDATE 1-Obama pledges better relations to Mexico's Calderon

(Updates with quotes after meeting)

By Jeff Mason and Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Barack Obama, who takes over as U.S. President on Jan. 20, told Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday he would work to strengthen U.S. ties with Mexico, especially in the field of energy.

Obama has promised to nurture close ties with the U.S. southern neighbor and other Latin American countries, which complained of neglect by the United States after President George W. Bush's foreign policy focused heavily on Iraq.

"My message today is that my administration is going to be ready on Day One to work to build a stronger relationship with Mexico," Obama said after visiting with Calderon over a lunch of tortilla soup and other Mexican dishes.

It was Obama's first meeting with a foreign leader since his November election.

"The friendship between the United States and Mexico has been strong. I believe it can be even stronger and that's going to be the commitment of my administration," the president-elect told reporters.

"This will be the beginning of an extraordinary age in the relationship between the United States and Mexico," Calderon said.

Calderon said both governments needed to combine forces to fight organized crime. "The more secure Mexico is, the more secure (the) U.S. will be," he said.