- The incoming Foreign Secretary will seek to improve the quality of and multiply our services to provide the best services in Mexico to the public.
In the presence of about 2,000 Foreign Ministry personnel, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra today inaugurated a new stage at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a moving speech, in which she commended the Mexican Foreign Service members’ vocation of service. “[They are the] pride of our government. With their vocation of service, they dedicate their lives to the noble task of representing Mexico around the world and to speaking out for humanity’s best causes,” said the secretary.
The Foreign Secretary also commended all the officials who work at the Foreign Ministry, including the National Workers’ Union and all the support staff. She put special emphasis on the women, “whose persistence, struggle and success in breaking the glass ceiling opens the door for those who follow us.”
As part of a progressive wave, Alicia Bárcena said that she would follow a feminist foreign policy in all areas, while seeking equality and supporting Mexico’s transformed development model in order to address the challenges that President López Obrador sees as priorities: public safety and health.
“Our mission is exclusively to defend the enduring interests of Mexico and the Mexicans, and we will conduct our diplomacy under the guidance of the President. That is our only compass, and I ask you to dedicate all your efforts to this,” said the Secretary.
“We must carry forward our foreign policy principles and, above all, …rally a disenchanted citizenry. This is why we must make diplomacy more accessible to the people. Diplomacy must be at the service of the people,” she said.
“We are… a country of peace and, therefore, [we] must continue to help mediate peaceful settlements of disputes and to consolidate peace. This has been our position in the United Nations Security Council and in all multilateral forums. Mexico is also, above all, a country of solidarity. It is a country that has granted asylum to many countries in times of dictatorships and that should make us feel very proud”, said Secretary Bárcena.
Aware of her limited time at the helm of the Foreign Ministry, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs outlined six areas of foreign policy on which she will focus her work, with a comprehensive and social vision:
– North America: Greater emphasis on assistance for the Mexican diaspora in the United States and greater economic integration with the country’s northern neighbors.
– Latin America: Greater economic, educational and cultural integration with our southern brothers and deeper development cooperation.
– Diversification of Mexico’s relations with other regions of the world to contribute to Mexico’s development and its priority projects, specifically with Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
– Prioritize dialogue, build bridges and honor the principles of foreign policy, to contribute to the economic recovery of all of Latin America, to combat inequality and create better living conditions.
– Mexico will play a bigger role in various multilateral issues: the 2030 Agenda; the human rights of vulnerable populations: the disabled, indigenous peoples, the elderly, children, women and girls; asylum and refuge; and all aspects of disarmament, particularly the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
– Closer relations with our sister nations through international development cooperation, including the expansion and consolidation of programs such as Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life) and Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro (Youths Building the Future).
Lastly, Foreign Secretary Bárcena said that she would seek to improve the services offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We will take as many steps as necessary in one clear direction: we will improve the quality of and multiply our services to provide the best government services to the public.”
Originally published at https://www.gob.mx/sre/en/articulos/diplomacy-must-be-at-the-service-of-the-people-alicia-barcena-338858?idiom=en