EPN Receives Credentials from U.S. Envoy, Four Other Ambassadors

EMBASSY ROW

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto received diplomatic credentials on Monday, June 20, from five new foreign ambassadors, including U.S. envoy Roberta Jacobson.

The new emissaries — which also included the representatives of North Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Armenia — presented their diplomatic documents to the president during a formal afternoon ceremony at the National Palace in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico.

Following the presentation ceremony, Ambassador Jacobson spoke briefly about bilateral ties between the United States and Mexico, saying that she felt that the two-way relationship was at an important moment and that binational cooperation “has never been greater.”

“It is up to us to take advantage of the excellent opportunities that are being created through this unprecedented stage of mutual cooperation,” she said, speaking in fluent Spanish.

“I am committed to leading my work team [to broaden our friendship] with this objective always in mind because I am convinced that a solid relationship between the United States and Mexico is good for the United States, good for Mexico, and especially good for the 438 million citizens of our two countries.”

Jacobson, who previously served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, and spent four years as director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, before becoming assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, went on to say the United States and Mexico could work closely together to confront both global and regional issues in the areas of energy, climate change, transnational crimes and competitiveness.

“A relationship in which our shared values — such as the reduction of poverty, the growth of a solid middle class, the protection of basic human rights, the strengthening of the state of law, the accountability of government and democratic principles — is far more important than whatever differences we might occasionally have,” Jacobson said.

“It is a relationship in which we listen to each other’s point of views respectfully and in which we find points of common accord in order to move forward.”

The U.S. ambassador likewise said that the relationship is based on a mutual acknowledgement that only through education can a well-trained and productive workforce be created to meet the needs of the 21st century.

She said that it is important to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in order to confront future challenges, while at the same time insuring the inclusion of all members of society.

Peña Nieto also received diplomatic credentials from North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyong Gil, UAE Ambassador Ahmed Hatem Barghash Almenhali, Argentine Ambassador Daniel Chuburu and Armenian Ambassador Ara Aivazian.

Diplomatic credentials, which follow a standard text, identify the envoys as official representatives of their governments and empower them to speak on their country’s behalf.

In accordance with diplomatic protocol, ambassadors cannot represent their governments until the host government’s head of state formally receives their credentials as envoys, at which time they are considered accredited to the host country.

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