The president of El Salvador says he is ready to work with the US government on creating security and jobs in his country to reduce the number of people making perilous journeys into the US.

Nayib Bukele says the US is approaching the problem in "the wrong way", as more and more Central American migrants try to make their way in.

A harrowing photograph recently emerged of El Salvador migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria which shows the little girl holding onto her father as their bodies lie side-by-side in shallow water along the bank of the Rio Grande on the Mexican side.

Asked what he intends to do personally to prevent people becoming desperate to leave, Mr Bukele said the answer is in creating a better life for people in El Salvador.

"We are trying to make our country safe," he told Sky News.

"Most of the people who are fleeing are fleeing for two main reasons. One is because of the security because they don't feel safe… so we want to make our country safer and we will work really hard."

He added the second reason was a lack of opportunity and jobs, saying he "will make our country more prosperous and create jobs".

"So if people have an opportunity for decent jobs, a decent education a decent healthcare system and security, I know that forced migration will be reduced to zero," he said.

But he said the answer is not in blocking people from entering the United States.

"They are approaching this in the wrong way. History has shown that this will not stop migration."

He added that he was confident that making the right changes in El Salvador would reduce the number of people wanting to leave because most people, given the right opportunities, would always choose to stay in their homeland, close to their families.

"What I would say to the US government is we are ready to work on security and providing jobs for our people."

Following worldwide outrage over the deaths, both the US Senate and House approved separate legislation to provide funding for the care for migrants streaming into America.

A recent UNHCR report into refugees from El Salvador says: "The increasing exodus of Salvadorians in search of international protection is rooted in the human rights, social, political and economic impact of the increasing reach, power and violence of organised criminal groups."

In 2015, El Salvador's defence minister said the government believed between 500,000 and 600,000 of the country's 6.3 million population are linked to gangs.

The rate of femicide (killing motivated by gender) in El Salvador is the highest in the world.