NEWS & EVENTS

Ambassador Juan José Gómez Camacho meets with Reischauer Fellows

On September 30, Ambassador Juan José Gómez Camacho, Ambassador of Mexico to Canada, met with this year’s Reischauer Center Policy Fellows. Ambassador Gómez Camacho formerly served as the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations in New York. The fellows and Ambassador Gomez Camacho were also joined by Ambassador David Shear, Senior Fellow at the Reischauer Center, and Ambassador Abdulaziz Turkistani, former Amb. of Saudi Arabia to Japan. Prior to meeting with the fellows, Ambassador Gómez Camacho engaged in a conversation led by Dr. Kent Calder, Interim Dean of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | SAIS and Director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies.

The fellows and Ambassador Gómez Camacho had a dialogue on several interesting topics, including the role of diplomats in the modern age, perceptions of immigration policy, and the effect that international organizations have in pressuring domestic institutions to change.

The ambassador put forth that during the age of instantaneous communications, a diplomat’s role no longer focuses on bureaucratic connection between governments. Instead, modern diplomacy concentrates on connecting with the society to which one serves and strengthening transnational grassroots and business organizations. Ambassador Gómez Camacho also explained to the fellows the unique role international organizations play in influencing Mexico’s domestic institutions. The Ambassador stressed that institutions are reluctant to change both its policies and mentality. Mexico thus looks to international organizations as a source to pressure Mexico’s domestic institutions to adapt and reform.

Ambassador Shear closed the conversation by bringing up a quote from Sir Henry Wotton, an English diplomat from the 1600s: “An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” Both Ambassador Shear and Camacho disagreed with Wotton’s remark and firmly stated that honesty is essential for a diplomat and honesty is the most effective way to see that your nation’s interests are obtained.